Just squeeze it

When we go to a work site during the day, we try to remember to bring along one of the handmade quilts donated by a member of Church of the Resurrection in hopes of being able to meet the owner and give it to them personally. Being from Church of the Resurrection, it was especially important to me to be able to give one to a family we had helped. My favorite quilt of the group was a bright purple one with some green patches that I thought was perfect for a little girl. At Miss Davis' house we were scrapping rust of the iron gates so they could be painted again. As Leslie and I were working away we saw two eyes pop out from behind a shade and disappear again, then she stuck her head out the door and said "hi". On a bathroom break we went inside and started talking to her.

Her name is Mia. She is nine years old and likes to dance and play baseball. She lives with her mother and her grandmother (Miss Davis). She lived Mississippi for a year and a half with her aunt after the hurricane. Her birthday was on Mardi Gras this year, and was very happy to hear that we had all celebrated her birthday even before we knew her. After talking to her we invited her to come outside and have a little dance party while we finished working. As Leslie and I walked out the front door Leslie said to me "That's it.... she's getting the quilt". After lunch we brought the beautiful purple quilt and gave it to her. She was so excited and couldn't stop saying how she just wanted to squeeze it. Nothing else,,,, just squeeze it. And a quilt as special as that has a lot of potential. Her grandmother was so gracious and I know that the quilt will help her remember us as much as we will remember Mia, the cute little girl, always wearing a smile, and reminding us that amongst a great amount of destruction there is always a ray of sunshine.

Claire McConnell