Sunday, January 14, 2007

The old woman that lives in a shoe.


"There was an old woman
Who lived in a shoe,
She had so many children
She didn’t know what to do.
She gave them some broth
Without any bread.
She whipped them all soundly
And sent them to bed."




33 Years Ago this pillow, constructed by my mother, was the shoe where the old woman and all her children resided. It was light blue with fun pictures of windows, shutters and doors. The red plaid patch now rests in the spot that used to be a pocket for little stuffed children. The children long ago flew the nest, only to be replaced by dust mites and a lifetime of memories.

This beautiful dirty thing is my Ba-Ba or Ba for short.

I wish I could remember what drew me to this particular object. I mean, what about this pillow was more appealing to my 1 year old psyche than the 50 stuffed animals and 17 blankets I'm sure I'd accumulated by that time? Whatever it was, it drew me in deep. I couldn't live without it.

Overtime, as all good woobies do, it began to rip. My mother would sew up the rips around the seams and patch the tears on its body. One would think this would make the Ba less appealing, but for me it was the opposite. Rubbing my fingers on the build up of thread around the seams while sucking my left thumb, made for an unprecedented relaxing calm. It took me 27 years to find something else that gave me this same calm. Funny enough it was another Woobie. Not mine but my now husbands. Hopefully we'll hear about "Blankie" from him.

For a period of time between college and work, Ba was sent to the attic at my dad's house. We were reunited as a gift on my 30th birthday.

"Ba-Ba enshrined in gold"


I mentioned before that a lifetime of my memories live in the Ba. I suppose that makes me the old woman that lives in a shoe. :)

1 comment:

Christina Cole said...

I woke up this morning with a poem flowing out. It's not like me. I wrote it all including the dedication. After, I was looking for photos and found yours. Reading your blog is so similar to me, you'll see when you read.
http://torchedart.blogspot.com/2010/08/my-pillow-and-me.html