Aunt Jan, you rock!!

It has been the weekend for quilt squares. Friday I received a package from my aunt Jan Allison. In that package were 6 (count 'em 6!) quilt squares. Now these aren't just any quilt squares. They are made with love from my dad's shirts that he used to wear. The background is from a denim shirt he practically wore out. The pockets from several of his other shirts were sewn onto the background squares.

Here is a little history behind this and why they are so precious to me. My dad for those of you who don't know, passed away very suddenly just 3 weeks before I was to be married - just over three years ago. This of course was one of the most devastating things of my life. My aunt Jan (who is my dad's sister) eventually took several of his shirts and told me that she was going to make something special from them. When I started asking for quilt squares for Ryleigh's quilt, she said she would contribute something from my dad. Now for any of you who knew my dad, he never bought any new clothes for himself. The shirts that he wore, he had worn forever so I remember him in all of them. Several were casual shirts, some dress shirts and an old flannel shirt that he used to wear to work. When my dad did buy a shirt or if someone else gave him a shirt, it had to have a pocket on the front. He would not wear a shirt without a pocket. He had to have somewhere to store his glasses and such. So Jan made quilt squares from dad's shirt pockets. The wish that she wrote was this:

For Ryleigh:

I hope you will enjoy these pieces of memories that I am sending you for your quilt. Each quilt square has a pocket that I removed from the shirts that were once worn by your Grandpa Bob Kuhn. I am not very creative, but I do hope that these quilt squares will give you memories of your Grandpa for many years to come. He was indeed a wonderful person.

Love, Aunt Jan (Bob's sister)

He was indeed a wonderful person and all of this of course made me cry. I think about him being a grandfather and I know he would have been the best there is. I regret not having him here but I know he is watching out for me where he is. There is something else that is really cool about this. I do truly believe that he had a hand in bringing to me both of my children. The one I am carrying and the one we are adopting.

My dad was a thrifty man who saved every penny he made. When he passed away, he left my brother and me financially comfortable. Some of the money that I inherited from my father went to pay for the surgery that Dwaine had to reverse the vasectomy. And now I am pregnant. It took awhile but it worked even after the doctor told both of us that the surgery was a failure. We also have some of the money saved away for our adoption so in a way, he is funding our adoption as well. So I truly believe that he had a part in bringing his grandchildren into the world and into our lives. For that I am forever grateful.

I love my dad so much and our relationship was always a good one. When my mother passed away, our relationship became so much stronger and closer just because we were all that was left. So my dad, brother and I had to really stick together. So it was really difficult to lose him too. My mother meant the world to me and I know she would have been the best grandmother ever but when my dad died, I thought the world came to an end. I miss them both very much.

I miss you mom and dad and I love you!

Kelley