Caregivers of Excellence

number one and two favorite things, only after gardening and canning, which, to be honest, were also numbers one and two.

It was in the mid 1970s when I first went to her home. We had a family reunion, and all of the aunts proclaimed I was “the one” because John had never brought a girlfriend “home” before to meet the family. I remember seeing some sort of contraption close to the ceiling. It was something I’d never seen before. That contraption was her quilting frame.

My mom and both grandmothers had “modern” household tools that helped them with their tasks and hobbies. I had never seen anything like a quilting frame way up on the ceiling, but after a bit of explanation from my boyfriend at the time, I discovered how it worked.

Grandmother Phillips would lower that thing by loosening ropes which allowed it to descend to the level most comfortable for quilting. She would move her ladder backed chair along all four sides as she progressed with her stitches.

I think of her often, most times when I am planning a project on my high-tech machine. I have no doubt that Grandmother Phillips would pass up the chance to work on anything but her old quilt frame, no matter how fancy something else was.

Oh, and that Queen for a Day thing? She was offered everything from a diamond ring to a fur coat. What did she ask for? A rototiller for her garden. Her mule got too old to work so thankfully she decided to go for modern. Maybe folks passing by knew her best by the elderly woman managing a tiller. Whatever she was known for, she was Grandmother Phillips to me, and a great inspiration.

Kathy Bohannon is a freelance writer and inspirational speaker. She can be reached at kathybohan@yahoo.com