When was the last time you held a piece of yarn? Funny question, isn’t it? But entertain the thought a while and tell me what comes to your mind. What does yarn remind you of? Just earlier this week, I was registering our vehicles, and I saw a little something that brought this thought back to mind. A kind reminder of the stories about remembering. You see on the back of the registration, a small icon of a hand with a string in a bow around the index finger stating, “Sign up for eReminder, and we’ll e-mail you when it’s time to renew your vehicle registration!” That’s a mighty kind thing, isn’t it? I can tell you that I have never signed up for the e-reminder, but maybe I should.
When I was about eight or nine years old, I started going to the store for my parents on last-minute errands for dinner. We’ve never been a family of great means, but we got by just fine. I had to learn about budgeting, using the scales, and quick math at an early age. I would be given the list and just enough money to get what I needed. I would weigh the beans and rice, get the off-brand tomato sauce, and calculate tax. I got pretty good at it, and it's a skill that still helps me out when I go to the grocery store nowadays.
There’s one particular time when I had something else on my mind. I don’t remember what it was, but I do remember that when I stepped on the grayed-out pad that would activate the automatic doors, I had completely forgotten about what my mom asked me to get. I walked in and right back out with the hopes that somewhere on the way back home, I would recall my list. Unfortunately, I didn’t. I walked into the house empty-handed, and my mom inquired, “Where’s the food?” “I forgot,” I answered. I felt terrible knowing that she was more than halfway done with dinner, minus the few items that I should have remembered about.
I think a thread like this could have reminded me to think of what I should have been thinking about on the way to the store that day. They remind us to remember. In today’s tech-filled world, there are apps that serve as replacements for these physical reminders. I know I use reminders on my phone to remember groceries, tasks, and things I need to do for work, and sometimes I read and email and mark it as unread to remember to come back to it.
Yarn also reminds me of someone else, my wife’s grandmother, Pansy, and her elaborate pillow cases and blankets. Yarm reminds me of the blanket she made that I use to cover myself every night, since it offers just the right blend of warmth and cool air.
Yarn makes me think of stories, and I am sure if we were to go around the room, we could just about all share something that it reminds us of. A piece of yarn this short, though, is easy to lose. And if we are not careful with our stories, share them in other words, they too could get lost.
When a piece of yarn is woven together, it actually makes something else. That thing, be it a pillow case, a blanket, or a strategic cover for an extra roll when you need it most, that seconds as a doll's dress (Pansy had one too), well, let's just say, the possibilities are endless!
We all have a story in the yarn. And those stories are dear to us when they are woven into something greater. Like my daughter's first blanket here. She’s ten years old now, and just earlier this year, she started crocheting as well. So the story continues.
There are stories happening in town right now, from earlier this week, and those that will come to pass in the future. Stories that we all have a heart for, stories that lift us up, encourage us during our time of need, and stories that tickle us, too. Of course, there are sad stories, and we want to come alongside those and comfort the hurting. A thriving community is not an empty silo in the middle of an overgrown field. It is a silo filled with nourishment for generations to come, standing strong as a pillar that leads the community by example, to which we all have a part.
Over the last few months, a few dear friends of the community have been cultivating that field in preparation for the stories we hope you'll share. We have built a platform where those stories can be interwoven to create a rich tapestry of what makes our town, Mount Vernon, what it is. Stories that we do not want to lose, history that we don’t want to forget, and a future that we simply can’t leave to chance.
The story is already in the yarn; we’re just inviting you to join us in weaving it together.
If you are interested in becoming a part of MVNow.org as a citizen journalist, we invite you to complete the Citizen Journalist Interest form found on the site or by scanning the QR code below. Your story matters to us, and we would be honored to share it with the community.
