I have a hanger …

By my count, Grandma and Grandpa had thirty-one grandchildren by the late 1960s, each of whom (I believe) received a Christmas present (or two) every year. If my memory can be trusted, most years each of us received a Christmas-themed card with $2 tucked inside. That may not sound like much, but it was big money for a ten-year-old in 1967.

Several other times we also received something special, in addition to the cash, something a bit more personal and enduring. So it was that one Christmas (I don’t remember which) each of the grandkids received a crotchet-covered hanger like the one pictured below.

I cannot begin to imagine how many hours Grandma spent crocheting covers for thirty-one hangers. I cannot fathom the love that she put into every stitch of every cover. However, I do know that nearly fifty years later the hanger Grandma gave me endures and reminds me how blessed I am (we are) to have been born into the family of Malinda and Chris Buller and their eight wonderful children.

You see, I have a hanger in my closet that reminds me who I am and where I come from every time I see it—one of the best gifts that anyone could ever receive.