Something Old, Something New

My parents like to go to Mexico at least once a year to visit my paternal grandma. During the trips my mother always stops by our house and brings me back little treasures.  They are small family heirlooms like old photographs, childhood keepsakes- just little mementos that never fail to make me blissfully happy.  This time she surprised me with her wedding veil!  The rectangular piece is made of a delicate lace flower pattern.  My mom had a simple Catholic Church wedding when she married my dad.  She wore a personally hand-sewn, lace, pencil skirt (which she brought for me previously) and a matching jacket.  The jacket she converted into a maternity shirt and is lost forever (sigh)!  Since my parents have no surviving wedding pictures these articles hold even more value and serve as glimpses into the beginning of my parents love story.  The skirt is made of luxurious lace - absolutely radiant and I have stored it safely.  The veil though seems too special to put aside.  I had been previously thinking of purchasing a veil to wear when I visit Jesus in chapel and now I have a very special piece to look pretty for my Lord!  It seems like God wanted me veiled too because he provided this heirloom for my wear (smile). 

My moms wedding skirt nicely stored.

 I love the craftsmanship- the sturdy metal zipper and the button covered in the same lace.  The lace has a 3D appeal it's just absolutely gorgeous! 

I love vintage things, giving life to old articles thrills me especially when they have been in my family!  Growing up my mom used to refashion dresses for me from skirts she no longer wore and I loved her creativity in giving second life to garments instead of throwing them out.  For school picture day I always had the neatest refashioned hand-made dresses.  People would shower me with compliments.  That’s why I love thrift shopping and salivate over yard sales.  I just think we can learn so much from the values of past generations.  The idea of reusing things creatively instead of falling into the evils of consumerisms is a value that I like to implement in my life.  After doing some research into the damaging effects of our throw-away society I know that our God given call to good stewardship calls us to care for our planet by considering the effects of all the decisions we make- small as they might be.  In the past, refashioning was a way of life.  To take an old unwanted item and creatively give it new life was the norm.  I remember my mom sewing patches on our jeans instead of throwing them out at the first sign of wear.  She often takes me down memory lane and I love hearing about how she managed to use the material of her wedding jacket to make a pretty blouse to wear during her first pregnancy.  There’s something sweet about a fabric being able to serve so many special functions.

The Chantilly lace rectangular veil has beautiful scalloped edges.

For a few years now, ninety-percent if not more of what I wear comes from second hand stores.  Though, I too suffer from being too busy- in addition to lacking the patience to sew I crave a lifestyle change.  I want to slow down, to do less so that I can pick up some homely skills.  Growing up in Mexico, my mom involved us in daily house chores: cooking, cleaning and even taught us some sewing basics.  Part of the expectations of mothers in the past was to turn daughters into good housewives.  My sister is ten years older than I am, so she had more training than I did and she is very proficient in sewing, knitting, crocheting and baking.  This whole modern shift in first world countries telling women that homely values and skills serve of little or no value has really hurt our society.  I know that as I became a modern educated woman I wanted people to value me because of my mind not my homemaking skills. I prided myself in my very limited cooking and cleaning abilities and frowned upon women who desired to “just” be housewives.  Now a little older and hopefully wiser I see the beauty and the effort that it takes to run a home with love and care.  There’s nothing little about my mother in choosing her family instead of a career.  Shame on our secular culture for telling us that women who choose to sacrifice for their families are weak, ignorant - even deficient.  I love old things, tangible bits that connect me to my past, but I am also really drawn to traditional values which highlight the roles and expectations for the sexes.  There’s order and clear expectations for each to follow, a man must be a man and a woman a woman because together they complement each other.  That’s beautifully and biblically organic.  It’s a blessing to live reaping the positive effects of the women’s rights movement, but again I feel like our popular culture tells us we must make a choice between family and career- between old and new.  I am learning that we can have both.  We can be learned women who still pride ourselves in running a household, exchange family recipes and keep a happy home.  Love is a verb and if we want marriage we need to learn to express our love through every day actions like cooking, cleaning, mending… (SMILE).    

Mamita Maria ruega por nosotros, amen.