A Tear In My Eye

I have a tear in my eye but for a very good reason - not sad at all. It is a tear that appears when you hear of a kind deed and today I heard of a very kind deed towards my father.

My dad is suffering from Hodgkin's Lymphoma and is undergoing chemotherapy. My mum is such a tower of strength and is a very busy woman, albeit she is retired. She spends a lot of time teaching patchwork to fellow patchwork lovers and today was their last day before summer break.

Mum had set her friends a challenge to create a quilt from different types of fabric and her friend Anita had suggested last week that they had a competition in respect of same and asked whether my dad would judge. Mum said she had never meant it to be a competition but if that is what they wanted then she would ask my dad. My dad said "yes"!

Today when my dad arrived to judge the "competition" Anita and the rest of the group presented my mum with a gorgeous bunch of flowers, a card and £20 for her to spend on her trip to Caithness this week. Then from the background appeared another one of my mum's friend with a big box complete with bow and announced "this is not for you Mary, it is for Brian". The "competition" had been a sham all along and just a ploy to get both my mum and dad there.

Upon opening the box my dad discovered that every single member of the group had made a patch each of a quilt especially designed for him. It was based upon things my dad loves and in particular music. It even had the notes to "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" embroidered on it.

My mum has just told me all this on the phone hence the tear in my eye. I love thoughtful surprises like this. My dad was apparently lost for words and very emotional and my mum was also.

Mum said it will have to hang on the wall somewhere as it is too beautiful to put on a bed :o) and here was me thinking it was to keep dad warm :o) !!

I will post a photograph of it as soon as I am able to take one but what a lovely thought that people care enough to take the time and effort to do something special for my special parents.