Compliments

I was paid a great compliment a few days back.

A friend we haven't seen in awhile came for a visit and the boys brought item after item to her to show her things they had made, things I'd made for them, and projects still in the works. She asked politely after each thing and ooh-ed and aah-ed appropriately. After the boys got over their "show off every cool thing" mode and settled in to play, she said the very best thing:

Your kids seem to really appreciate handmade things.

I hope so. I really do.

I make their clothes, their toys, their blankies . . . my own things too. I hope they understand that the time and love poured into a project is far greater than the actual finished product. I hope their matching pajamas and little handknit toys for a long time- not because of what they are but because someone who loves them tremendously made it for them.

It isn't even about me and the things I personally make for them. It's about supporting the people you know and love in their creative ventures and knowing that that is just as important as the usual things we support each other in.