What do you want to be when you grow up?

I wish I could remember how I answered this question as a child. I wish I could remember have some kind of an ambition, anything. But I don’t remember at all, and there isn’t anyone alive any more who could tell me if I did have an ambition.

The first time I remember someone asking me that I was entering high school. I was sitting in the principal’s office of the school I would be attending in just a few weeks. Ironically my brand new step-mother at that time had graduated from that same high school, and I am pretty sure I resented that, although I can’t tell you why.

I was baffled by the question, and most of the rest of the conversation that went with it. We were picking my classes, although it was mostly them, I was lost. I had to have math, English, science, history, and gym, and then two electives. So what did I want to be? I had no idea, and I’m sure I expressed that to them.

Well “they” decided I should go to college. Wait… I’m just in high school what does college have to do with this? So that meant I wanted college prep classes, whatever that meant. I would take English, Earth Science, American History, something called algebra and gym, now what else did I want. My step-mother decided I should take Spanish, as long as it was with a certain teacher who she had when she went there. Hold on, wasn’t I already taking that algebra thing, it had to be a foreign language, I’d never heard of it.

But anyway, what does this have to do with quilting… I got an email from a “woman” today who wanted to make one of my patterns and she was sending me the money by check because she couldn’t use PayPal but I could email her the pattern. I replied, saying that was fine, but if she would like she could make the check payable to ACS and make it a straight donation, and use it for a tax break. Her reply is below…

“I am only 12 years old so I don’t do taxes yet, but my mom says we can do that and will put check in mail today. I want to be a pattern maker just like you when I grow up.”

I sent her the pattern, and told her to keep the money to buy fabric with. And I thanked her for one of the greatest compliments I have ever been given.