The Pink Afghan Finds a Home

*Look for a new posting every Tuesday and Friday*

A previous posting started the Afghan Story and this one finishes it.  As I stated in my letter to Henry, I was saving the pink afghan in anticipation of the Lott family getting a "Lott" bigger.  Of course I had no way of knowing in 2006 exactly when, or if, I would add to my granddaughter collection, but I managed to hold on to the new pink afghan found at mother's house and surprisingly I knew where I had put it.

 

Catherine and Kate at Lakeview

Mother's globe-trotting days had ended by the time of Kate's baptism in September of 2008 so their first introduction did not take place until a couple of years later.  Jennifer tells me that Henry and Kate ask about "Bubba" often and remember the purple foil-wrapped Hershey's Kisses that mother gave them from the candy dish near her favorite chair in Tiptonville.  More than once, on my visiting trips, I have brought them each a handful to refresh their memory of her. 

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September 14, 2008

Dear Katherine Margaret Lott,

Henry and Kate outside Tiptonville Presbyterian

            If I may be allowed to set the stage properly, the year is 2086 and you have gone to visit your brother Henry.  You are both older than I was when I first wrote these letters many years ago.  I know ya’ll remember me; the very funny old man with the two day old beard and a hearing problem that drove every one a little batty.  You came to many of the PPPP events each summer and helped me get up and down stairs.  But neither of you could ever beat me at Michigan Rummy or Backgammon.

            On this particular day you and Henry are stretched out in front of a big fireplace.  You brought with you the big box of memories that your mother kept and added to regularly all the years of her life.  And on your laps are the two afghans which I gave to each of you before you were even one year old. 

            Go ahead, Henry, and read aloud the letter that came with your afghan explaining the origin of both your lap robes.  That’s right Kate.  That’s your pink afghan that I mentioned at the end of Henry’s letter.  Of course, I got the date wrong.  It was actually given to you in 2008 not 2009.  Your mom and dad were a little ahead of my time table.

            I’m writing this letter a few days prior to your Baptism that is coming up this Sunday morning.  Go ahead and tell Henry to dig out the letter I wrote after his Baptism.  The words and sentiments expressed in that letter really apply to you both.  Most everyone mentioned attended both ceremonies.  The most notable exception was the absence of your Great-Grandmother Bubba.

            In the two years between these events Bubba’s health has taken a turn for the worse.  She turned 92 this past January and while she is still living at home with your Aunt Sue, she is simply not able to make long trips any more.  When I told her you were being baptized this Sunday, she asked me to be sure and give you a special hug and kiss from her.  She wished she could be here Sunday for you as she was for Henry.  At her church, the Tiptonville Presbyterian Church, she has asked the preacher to say a prayer for you and to announce to the congregation that her very special Great-Grand Daughter Katherine Margaret Lott, was baptized this day, at this hour.  It’s almost like you’re getting two ceremonies for the price of one.

            I want to say a word to both of you as you sit there all nice and warm and cozy.

I want to make sure that the box of memories that your mother so lovingly put together for you is handed down to your own grand kids.  I’m especially concerned that the two of you pass on all the books and letters and writings of, and about, your Great-Grand Father James Neville LeDuke and your Great-Grand Mother Catherine Patty LeDuke.

            These are two very special people that should never be forgotten.  Unfortunately neither of you has any direct memory of either of them so you must rely on the contents of your memory chest.  Hopefully you will remember much of what I have told you about them and what your mother and your Aunt Amanda have shared over the years.  Don’t let the flames of these wonderful ancestors of yours die out.

            You are both so very lucky to have had Jennifer and Dan as your parents all these years; and lucky to have the ancestry of them both.  Learn all you can about both those family trees and pass everything down to all those that follow you.

            May God bless you in your last years as he has blessed you from your baptism through all your life.                             

                                    I’ve loved you both always,           

PaPa Duke.

***** 

Jimmy LeDuke (I'd love to hear from you...feel free to comment below, or click HERE to send me an e-mail.)