Today I pulled out a dress Elizabeth bought last summer a thrift store. I love it. But it’s damaged.
Where the tears are combined with the type of fabric means that the mending is going to require my least favorite kind of sewing—hand-stitching. Bleck. Why do things have to wear out, break down, or loose their polish?
I want the dress but it’s going to take something I lack a lot of—-patience—to get the dress back into wearable condition. Wouldn’t it just be easier to hack it up and make it into something else? As I looked at the dress and mulled over my course of action I began to think of another situation….
Almost 8 months ago I gave birth to my little baby Ruth.
(I could look at that face all day.)
But something went very wrong and her delivery didn’t go as planned…and I’ve spent these past 8 months mending.
Sometimes things don’t go as planned and it can be hard to understand why.
8 months is a long time…and I’m ready for the mending to be completed. But as with most projects it is taking longer than expected.
By now I should be well into my training for the first marathon of the season but instead I visit with doctors and hope that today won’t be one of those days when I can’t lift my own baby.
In fact this weekend was supposed to be my first big race after the baby (the race I planned to totally school my brothers AGAIN—that’s right boy’s I said again—and start on the pathway to a goal I set for myself almost a year ago) but instead I’ll be sitting on the sidelines.
How much do I hate that?
And what I hate even worse is the uncertainty of my mending process—when will it end? And when it’s finished (how ever long that takes) what condition will I be in?
I thought about this as I looked at that dress…
….sometimes you look at a project and it seems like too much work and you wonder if it is even worth saving at all.
Tonight the dress is on my sewing table. It has patiently waited in Ruth’s closet for almost a year now. I think the time has come for it to be mended. Even if the process by which to return it to a usable condition is one that I’d rather not do. I plan to have it mended and Ruth wearing it all fresh and clean Sunday morning. I think it will definitely be worth the effort.
As for me…I’ll keep mending…even if it means doing what I don’t want to do: going to the doctors, sitting on the sidelines, and trying to be patient. Meanwhile, I’ve made a list of about 25 projects I’ve always wanted to try and I’m going to work my way through them—I can’t run or lift but I can sew right?
(And while I sew I’ll be thinking about the day when I’m at a finish line, eating my ice cream sandwich, and waiting for my siblings to cross so I can be a jerk about their old lady sister beating them…soundly…because I will…because I will mend even if it takes forever.)
And in the end (and while I’m waiting) I will continue to be grateful that not only am I still here to be mended but that I have this to keep forever:
because she’s worth a lifetime of sitting on the sidelines.
PS—As long as I’m sharing my Ruth….did you know that tomorrow is National Babe Ruth Day?
Well, it is.
Except at our house…where we’ll be celebrating National Baby Ruth Day.
Are we really going to be having a celebration?
You better believe it.
-liZ
Liz,
I am praying for your recovery here and hope you have a wonderful day celebrating your beautiful baby Ruth!
Erin
Interestingly I absolutely love handsewing, and I am only just learning to use a sewing machine. I’ve been ill for 12 years now, so I understand the sitting on the sidelines! Mending can never happen quick enough. I hope you mend quickly, and the sewing goes well! 🙂
Helen x
You said it so perfectly. Mending will happen as it does in time. You will school your brothers again soon! In the mean time, enjoy the sewing because when you start to run, you know you won’t have as much time for that.
Your baby is absolutely beautiful! Your words brought tears to my eyes. I pray for a speedy recover for you.
I really hope you mend soon 🙁 Just stay positive, I know some days it’s easy to just say that than actually feel it, but NEVER give up. What’s the point of giving up? What do you have to gain? Nada. But if you just keep at it, keep going and going like the energiser bunny {I really hope that’s not just an Australian thing…} and you will make it and it will be worth it!!
And would you do it all again for Baby Ruth? I bet you would 🙂
Stay strong, you have so many people cheering for you!
Lovely post! Unfortunately things don’t always happen on “our” time frame… It’s a bummer…
Baby Ruth is adorable!!
I should be mending that dress for you!!!!!
~elizabeth
I should be mending that dress for you!!!!!
~elizabeth
Thank you for sharing. You’ve touched my heart. What a beautiful baby and a beautiful mother.
Sorry that you are still mending – what a glorious treasure your little Ruth is!!
I am so sorry to hear you are still healing liZ. I had no idea. Our kids are definitely worth any and all pain we must go through, but that still doesn’t lessen what we have to bear sometimes as Mothers. Know we (your readers) are with you, love and support you, and will be there to cheer you on when you are finally able to run that marathon (from afar :)).
Super adorable picture of Ruth too…I cant believe how big she has gotten so fast!
1. Sometimes the recovery and return to running gives you time to change your thoughts about running. Can you walk your marathon? Different attitude and adjustment of what time means but still a noble goal. I have just returned to running from a serious injury in which I actually had to learn to run again. My marathon is still 9 months off (like giving birth) but I am learning patience in the process.
2. As for hand sewing and mending. I couldn’t agree more with the “BLECH” attitude. BUT with all the beautiful things that you make and do, why not approach it with some embroidery or ribbon. When it comes to something that is mostly savable but needs mending at a seam or edge I try to embroider it together in a very subtle manner to make it a strong mend with a slight flair.
Thank you for sharing. I’ve been going through a healing processes ten months long. And I have a ten month old. Yours words spoke to me in a way that few can (Other than the marathon part. I think you’re just crazy there!;) ).
how so from the heart,thank you for sharing so honestly….and yes baby ruth is worth it, a million times over and more..shes a total cutie. xx
Ruth is so beautiful! I’m sorry the healing process is so long and frustrating. I hope it improves quickly for you.
I hope you’re granted a speedy mending, and if not, the patience to get through it without losing your mind. The things we go through for our children, and oh how very worth it they are! She’s adorable, and at least with hand-mending you can watch something silly on Netflix or something while you’re at it. 🙂
Liz, I never knew that you were struggling so much to heal. It can be so hard physically and emotionally when our bodies are not as healthy as we want them to be. I pray that you heal completely and quickly. That baby girl is just gorgeous!
Baby Ruth is as sweet as candy. And she looks so much like Grace. You’ve got some cute little girls.
I am so sorry that you’ve had some complications. That can be so frustrating. You are such a patient, wonderful woman.
Beautiful baby and beautiful post!
Long recoveries are another on the list of things nobody tells you about having a baby… It sounds like you’re dealing with more than my minor troubles, but it’s not fun wanting to do something and your body not cooperating. Best wishes on a complete recovery.