L U N A T A L K with Eva Moon

Patchwork

March 31, 2009 on 11:15 am | | In Backstage Pass, Found, General Musing, Travel

Families are pieced together in different ways, some harmonious, some in vivid contrast. Often the seams are strained to breaking, but hopefully the stitches hold fast.

I’ve been fortunate, both in my own family and in the family I married into. We may not see them often, but when we do it’s good, though with far, far, far too many tortilla chips. We were down in California last week to celebrate my mother-in-law’s 80th birthday and continue doing our part to keep America’s corn growers afloat in this troubled economy. I hope I’m half as sharp and witty when I’m 80 as she is. Happy birthday, Kathi!

Like many modern families, I don’t have just one mother-in-law, but two. We took a day to drive up the coast from Oxnard to charming San Luis Obispo to see MIL#2. In the past, we’ve mostly visited in the summer and I’ve always had a soft spot for the way coastal California looks then: rolling hillsides swathed in pale gold grass, dotted with dusty green live oaks. In March Hwy 101 weaves between rolling blue ocean and green, green and more green. The miles swept by and before we knew it we were sailing past the ever-expanding kitchiness of  Madonna Inn and off the freeway into town.

MIL#2, Barbara, is a quilter. Though that’s a little like saying Eric Clapton plays guitar. One never need worry about tripping and falling in her house - you’re sure to land on something soft. Her work is meticulous, creative, beautiful and prolific. And at 79, it’s keeping her young and as vibrant as her quilts. She’s just completed a project that’s kept her busy for years: Making wedding quilts for all her grandchildren. None of the grandkids is close to matrimony yet. But my boys got to see their quilts.

Years ago my father-in-law advised me to make plans for the future. It’s not critical to follow the plan, he said. Just having it gives a shape to the future and makes your place in it seem real and solid. That advice led to a couple of poor real estate investments, but no regrets. These quilts did the same thing. Suddenly, a vague and amorphous future had wives and homes and quilts in it. Colorful threads sew scattered pieces of family into something that will do to keep you warm. Quite nicely.

See more like that one:

• South and East
• Disappearing/Reappearing Airport
• It's Like a Fish. But It's Not a Fish.
• Murder Most Foul
• Rolling Downhill