A Nice Story
Last fall when Valerie was sick and at home she asked her sister in law/sister/friend, Caryl Malcolm, who is a knitter, to please send her some yarn so she had something to do with her time.
It turned out that Valerie was too ill to get started on a knitting project before she went into the hospital.
The box of yarn sat here until about six weeks ago when I finally sent it back to Caryl. By this time Caryl was dealing with a diagnosis of her husband Peter Stone, who had long term cancer, that treatment was no longer possible for him and that it was a matter of time until he passed. Peter died on April 19. I just returned yesterday from Calgary where I attended Peter’s Celebration of Life two days ago.
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Today, I checked my mailbox and I had a notification of a package from Canada Post. I went to pick it up and though, hmm, there must be a mistake here. I left the package in the car, came upstairs and texted Caryl.
‘Hi Caryl, is it possible you sent the package of wool I sent you back to me. I just picked up a package at the post office and it looks suspiciously like the shape and weight of the package of wool I returned to you that Valerie despite her good intentions never got to use. I wonder if in the confusion of the last few weeks it was mistakenly returned. Brian.
P.S. we are keeping Canada Post in business.
Caryl replied: ‘Ha! I sent the yarn back to you after I converted it to a blanket’
I replied: ‘LOL. I guess I should have opened it and looked at it. What a surprise – I never dreamed you would do that. And you certainly didn’t need to do it for me. I’ll think of Valerie and you every time I look at the blanket. I’ll get it from the car and look at it now. Do you think it would be ok to have it on the boat for people to wrap themselves in when it is cool? Again, with all the things you have been dealing with you took the time to do this. I’m totally impressed. Love Brian. XO
Caryl replied: ‘Ha! You should open it and read my card. I imagine you will laugh. Knitting it kept me sane while I was sitting with Peter. XO
Here is Caryl’s note:
Dear Brian,
If I remember correctly, Valerie wanted to make a blanket with this yarn for your new boat. I bought this colour of yarn because it reminded me of the different colours of the ocean. So I knit this for you and for her. While I did, I thought a lot about Valerie, our long friendship, how she always made me feel like family, her unique way of being in the world. I thought I could use a little more of her boldness, courage, esteem and confidence. She was one of a kind. So I hope this blanket adds a little bit more Valerie to your boat. Love, Caryl.
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Below is a picture of Caryl’s blanket. God bless her and God bless Peter, a gentle and kind man. I will think of her and Peter and Valerie every time I look at it. Perhaps we will call it Peter’s blanket in his memory!
