the sweater

While I was in Arizona just a couple weeks ago to say goodbye to my grandma, my mom and I took a break from the hospice and went to the house to shower and do some laundry.  While we were there my mom showed me all the Christmas presents, which were in my grandma's closet.  A sweater caught my eye and I asked my mom if it was new because I hadn't seen grandma wear it.  My mom said my grandma didn't like the sleeves and didn't really care for it.  I nabbed it with the intention of asking my grandma if I could keep it the next time she woke up.  

I took the sweater home with me and wore it yesterday.  I didn't wash it so it smelled like her.  But the true magic happened about an hour into wearing it.  I found a couple Sophie & Zuni hairs (mom and grandma's dogs) and had a few chuckles while picking them out in the restroom at work.

A few hours after finding the dog hairs I felt a sharp prick in the left sleeve.  After several pokes I went back to the restroom to investigate.  I dug around and found a little twig.  Thankfully, not a cactus spine, but a mighty sharp little twig, about an inch long and cream-colored.  Who knows where it came from, but I feel strongly that in addition to the grandma smells and a little dog love, the sweater also brought a bit of the desert to Kansas.