Handkerchiefs…

Two years ago when Bailee was getting ready to graduate I wanted to give something special and meaningful to her closest friends. I came up with the idea to embroidery a handkerchief for each one of them with my embroidery machine. I personalized each one with a different design and their name or initials on it. Recently, I was trying to think of something meaningful to give my 7 seniors and senior manager on my soccer team. I decided to the same for them as I did for Bailee’s friends two years ago. Along with each handkerchief I gave a printed copy of the following….(I did a little editing on it for my soccer team since this one referred to Bailee and her friends, but this is the original version)

I loved my grandmother. I could sit and listen to her talk for hours about the old times. I miss her very much even though she’s been gone for many years now. One of my fondest memories of her was that she always had a handkerchief or as some people call it, a hanky! It didn’t matter where we were or what we were doing she ALWAYS had one. You see “back then” you could buy box sets of pretty little hankies just about anywhere. They always had some sort of pretty embroidery on them. Sometimes the edges were scalloped and embroidered or sometimes they were edged in lace. My grandmother had so many hankies and I always loved to see which one she had each time I was with her. To me they were just the prettiest things I had ever seen.

Not only were they pretty, but they were extremely useful. If we had a runny nose, grandmother always had a hanky to wipe it. If we got food on our face, grandmother always had a hanky to clean it. If we skinned our knee, grandmother always had a hanky to wipe away the dirt. If we were upset, grandmother always had a hanky to wipe the tears. I saw her wipe her own tears many times with her hanky. When she was moved during a worship service by the music or the preacher she would wipe her tears with her hanky. When she saw a newborn baby she wiped her tears with her hanky. When she saw a couple in love get married she wiped her tears with her hanky. When my granddaddy, the love of her life, passed away, she wiped her tears (and mine) with her hanky.

So when I was thinking about your upcoming graduation I decided I wanted to do something special and meaningful for each one of you. Somehow my grandmother and her sweet, little handkerchiefs came to my mind. I thought how neat it would be if each one of Bailee’s friends, who she loves so dearly, had a hanky of her own. I made each one different and personal for you, but the common factor is now each one of you have one.

Use this handkerchief however you would like to. Maybe you’ll be like my sweet grandmother and keep it with you all the time “just in case”. Maybe you’ll put it somewhere safe with other keepsakes. Whatever you do with it I want you to remember it as a symbol of some things. You are starting a new journey that is going to be filled with many “runny noses”, “skinned knees” and “tears”…probably lots and lots of tears. Some will be happy tears, some will be mad tears and some will be sad tears. Also use it to remember to not take things or people for granted. Remember, earlier I wrote that you could buy boxed sets of hankies just about anywhere…well not anymore. I have no clue where to find them. The only place I could find handkerchiefs was in the men’s section of Walmart, but at least they were plain so I could embroider each one personally.

Just like the hankies…my precious grandmother is no longer here. You see none of us are promised tomorrow. As you finish up with school and go your separate ways always cherish the friendships you leave behind. One thing I always tell Bailee is live with no regrets! So how you choose to part the hallowed halls of ECHS and how you choose to leave friends behind are up to you, but just make sure that if their tomorrow never comes that you have no regrets in how you left them. When you pull out your hanky to wipe your nose, clean up some dirt or wipe away a tear may it be a reminder of sweet friends you had in high school…maybe the only true friends you’ll ever have. Don’t take them for granted because they may not always be there! Instead, let your hanky prompt you to think of the other girls who have this little token and maybe call them, text them or just say a little prayer for them!

Soak this time up ladies and savor every moment! It’s a sweet, sweet time! Congratulations and know that I am so proud of each one of you!

Pictured above is one of the handkerchiefs I just made for one of my players along with one of my grandmother’s handkerchiefs. ❤️ Pictured below are our soccer girls who each received their handkerchief at our soccer banquet last week.