The best way I can describe this year so far is that it has been a bag of MnMs. I’ve has the blues, the reds, the greens, the yellows and all the other colors in that candy package. Analogy? I’ve had highs, but I’ve also had lows. Life will always be a roller coaster, but I feel like the ride is especially wild this year.
Completing my book was great moment and overall, I am very proud of the quality of my sewing projects and blog content in the past couple of months. I’m getting deeper into projects and learning something from each rather than finishing to complete a blog post. But losing a sewing friend was low and it’s still hard for me to go into the pattern room and see her desk. Then, last week, I was hit with this news – Mishka, the woman who taught me how to sew, is in the hospital.
Mishka is a wild woman, and it takes a unique person to get along with her. She’s crude, she’s crass, she says what she wants, she does what she wants and doesn’t give a rat’s ass what you think. In her interview, I asked her about her parents, and her response was, “My dad was an asshole and my mother was an angel.” Who says that?! Over 80-years-old, she rides her bike to work at 5 am and doesn’t leave until 6 pm or later. She runs her shop by herself, handling the books, advertising and alterations single handedly. She doesn’t have a car, a cell phone or a computer; her highest form of technology is her bicycle, which she rides around town with her dog in the tow. I’ve seen many people come in and out of her shop, all leaving because she is such a character, but she and I? Somehow, through the grace of God and Elvis, we got along.
People come into your life for a reason, and I believe Mishka entered mine to be a mentor, a role model and a stepmom… a sewing stepmom. This coupled with the other events this year are causing my tectonics plates to shift, and more than ever, I want to carry on what Patricia, Mishka and my mom passed on to me.
Whatever religion you are, please pray for Mishka.
