Do you remember dear Miss Marie? The sweet lady who gifted my girls with butterfly hair clips? Well, I do believe she is truly an angel in disguise, perhaps even my guardian angel. It seems that whenever I am having a hard time she somehow knows and finds me.
The love she has for life shines through her kind eyes and you just can not help but be calmed by her presence. I am so thankful for her.The other week after Mass she found us (again at a time when I needed her). She admired the girls' knit rainbow dresses and mentioned that she wanted one. I told her I would knit for her any day. We spoke a bit more about knitting, as we usually do, and then somehow or other we were on the topic of C's favorite saint - Saint Rita. Oh, how I wish you could have heard Miss Marie repeat her name in Italian with her beautiful accent. Santa Rita de Cássia. Her name just rolled off her tongue so delicately.
Saint Rita then brought us to the topic of nuns and Miss Marie said, " Oh I lived with a nun for many years in Italy." This piqued C's interest and she leaned in listening intently. Miss Marie saw C's interest and continued, "Oh yes, well during WWII I lost both of my parents and had to live in an orphanage for many years." Then she smiled her soothing smile and said, "That is why I love your knitting so much - it reminds me of knitting in the orphanage. We knit our own socks and sweaters all the time."
It took me a minute to find words to respond with. I was heartbroken over her childhood but she seemed to take it in stride. I also felt awful for a moment thinking about how my knitting reminded her of her life in an orphanage. But then I realized that it truly made her happy, not sad to see our hand knits. After we said our goodbyes (or Ciaos!) K and I both looked at each other and I think we shared the same sadness combined with love over what Miss Marie had gone through. I asked K what we should do because we both obviously felt the need to do something. We want to invite her to our home for dinners and really get to know her, but I wanted to do something more. Knit Miss Marie a shawl. YES! That is it. K and I could work on it together. Maybe even C could do a couple garter stitch rows. Then she could wrap herself in our love. That's seems like just the thing. But what do you think? I could really use your help here. Does a shawl sound like a good idea? Or would something else be better? Then what color and what pattern should we use? Something stylish (because Miss Marie is quite the stylish lady) but not too bold. Please do speak up and tell us what you think!
