The Rural Voice, 2003-12, Page 10WEST WAWANOSH
MUTUAL
INSURANCE
COMPANY
1879 (0 2003
INeighdour helping 91(eighdour"
529-7921
(*I
Aff of us
1 associated with West
Wawanosh Mutual.share
( with you the joy of
Christmas and extend our
wishes for a safe,
successful and hapy
��
(
New Year.
YOUR LOCAL AGENTS/BROKERS
Frank Foran, Lucknow
Donald Simpson, Ripley
Omni Insurance, Clinton
Omni Insurance, Goderich
Omni Insurance, Auburn
Lyons & Mulhern Insurance,
Goderich
McTaggart Wettlaufer Insurance,
Mitchell
Miller Insurance, Kincardine
P.A. Roy Insurance, Clinton
P.A. Roy Insurance, Wingham
Banter, MacEwan, Feagan,
Goderich
John Moore Insurance, Dublin
Kleinknecht Insurance, Linwood
Miller Insurance, Southampton
Miller Insurance, Owen Sound
Craig, McDonald, Reddon,
Walkerton
Craig, McDonald, Reddon,
Hanover
Craig, McDonald, Reddon,
Mildmay
Craig, McDonald, Reddon,
Durham
Chatsworth Insurance,
Chatsworth
Elliott Nixon Insurance, Blyth
Seaforth Insurance, Seaforth
Sholdice Insurance, Brussels
528-3824
395-5362
482-3434
524-9899
529-7273
524-2664
348-9150
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887-6100
INSURANCE FOR FARM, RESIDENTIAL,
COMMERCIAL AND AUTO' •
A Member Of The Al
Ontario Mutual Insurance Association
6 THE RURAL VOICE
Keith Ro
Gifts money
Keith
Roulston is
editor and
publisher of
The Rural
Voice. He
lives near
Blyth, ON.
On our spare bed, where it won't
be worn by everyday use, there is a
hand -appliqued quilt, a gift from my
mother years ago before age and
infirmity slowed her down.
The red roses that adorn the top
are the product of the artistic skill she
discovered in the latter part of her life
after the heavy work of stretching
meagre farm income through a family
of three kids finally abated. I look at
those roses and I remember her when
she was younger and more vital, not
in her final days when age had
robbed her of her joy for life. I look
at the tiny, intricate stitches that quilt
the top to the padding and I think of
the hands of her many friends and
neighbours who sat around the frame
piecing that quilt together. Many of
those hands are stilled now too.
When I think about it, I can't
think of a better gift my mother could
have given us even if she had
unlimited resources to shop the most
exclusive shops in North America.
Once upon a time handmade gifts
were the norm for Christmas, particu-
larly on the farm. People were short
on money then, but long on time and
love. But things got better financially,
even for those who would probably
describe themselves as not having
much. Somehow the homemade gift
paled beside the shiny store-bought
gift, particularly if it was advertised
in a catalogue, on the radio or on TV
and had that special stamp of fashion
on it. Soon homemade seemed
second best and people would scrimp
and save to be able to buy gifts rather
than seem too poor or, worse, too
cheap to buy something manufac-
tured. No doubt a generation or two
of kids, brainwashed by the
expectations of friends and the
approval of the media drove nails in
the coffin of the homemade gift.
ulston
can't bug
Nowadays for most of us it's time
we lack, not money. Listen to most
people speak about gift buying and
you'd think it was an unpleasant
chore, not an experience of
expressing love for family and
friends. Somehow I can't think that
the mother who used to knit scarves
for love ones or the father who hand-
crafted a sleigh, saw gift -giving as
such a burden even if they actually
put more of themselves into it than
modern shoppers.
Back then, of course, people
needed so much and had so few
options. Today trying to find a gift
that's actually useful can be a major
task. People generally are so well off
that if they want something, they
probably already have it.
And of course we feel the pressure
to find the "perfect" gift. We're big
on perfect these days. We must have
the perfect Christmas tree, the perfect
decorations outside. We even have an
image of perfect Christmases handed
down through years of TV specials.
I'm sure that quilt is not perfect.
I'm sure if I brought in an expert in
quilting she could find imperfections
and in dcing so might diminish my
appreciation of this gift. But if that
expert had an unlimited budget to go
out and find the most finely crafted
quilt in existence, it couldn't hold a
candle to the one that's in our guest
room.
You can't buy love in Wal-Mart or
the Sears catalogue or anywhere else.
In the long run it seems to me that
it's the love that goes into a gift that
matters, not the number of dollars.
My mother's house until the day
she died was cluttered with little
porcelain ornaments of no particular
financial value. We were bewildered
that she kept them but I think I know
why she did.
I bought some of those unfashion-
able, even tacky, trinkets, taking my
tiny shopping budget to try to find
something my mother would love.
Through grown-up eyes, I smile and
shake my head at my gifts. Mother,
though saw the love not the
ornament. Big dollars couldn't have
gone any further. Sometimes I think
we're poorer for being richer.0