The Woman

When I think about the question "What would you save in a fire?" boring things come to mind. Purse! Computer! Box with passport in it! But if it were at all possible, The Woman would be coming with me, too. (She first made her appearance on this blog in this post but a photo wasn't enough.)

My paternal grandmother was the ultimate crafty lady. She taught me how to crochet, how to cross-stitch, and whenever I'd visit, we'd make something. She was master of embroidery, knitting, tatting, calligraphy, everything! One of her projects I remember was this embroidery of a woman. At the time I thought the flowers in her hands and hair were grapes which only made her more alluring.

Over the past few years she'd been on my mind. My grandmother passed away when I was in high school and when my grandfather moved into a smaller home, The Woman was put in a low-traffic area so I didn't really see her again until she was mine. When the time came for my grandfather to move into yet a smaller home, I persisted my dad as often as possible, letting him know that if The Woman didn't make the cut into the new home, let it be known that I wanted her.

After a good few months of nagging (to be honest, my goal was for my anxiety to be linked to the portrait so no one would forget someone wanted her. Stealth.) my parents sent me a text with a photo of The Woman propped on one of their dining room chairs. There was squeeing.

But where to put her? I had only been in my apartment for a couple months, but all the wall space was already accounted for. So she lives by the front door and every day I am floored by her. I don't normally favour artwork with people in them (it feels awkward to me to have strangers in my home) but she is family.