Remember the time of needle and thread…

She suddenly remembered her childhood, the old home in the warm countryside, the clear moonlit nights like in the song "Memories" by musician Pham Duy: "Give me back the old days/ The moon rises like the top of an areca tree/ My mother sat sewing clothes next to a fading oil lamp/ My father sat reading the newspaper, the streets were deserted...".

I remember the image of my mother sitting diligently mending clothes for her sisters in the dim yellow light. The patched shirt and the needle and thread are often associated with the image of a flickering oil lamp in the time when there was no bright electric light like today. Now that I think back, I understand why my mother always mended clothes at night. It was because during the day my mother worked hard, only late at night, after all the housework was done, the children had eaten their fill, and opened their books to study, did my mother have time to thread the thread and mend the torn shirt.

She also learned to sew with her mother, sometimes hearing her mother softly complain about tired eyes, tired hands, and tired back. Mother said, the patch shows the skill and diligence of a woman. There is a folk saying "Skillful at patching shoulders, talented at patching armpits" . Looking at the patch, you can tell who is clumsy and who is good. Skillful people have tiny stitches, sometimes hidden under the fabric, looking at them you can't see any trace of the tear, sometimes the tear is as beautiful as a gentle pattern. As for clumsy people, the stitches are uneven, bumpy, the tear is unsightly. But sometimes a patch says a lot: urban people are meticulous, poor, the patch must be the same color, must be discreet, the good style shows the bad; the country people are clumsy, hard-working, so what's the matter... patch it up, patch on patch, called patching over patch...

She remembered that in the past, her classmate often wore pants with a huge patch on the butt, with long and short needle stitches hastily scribbled. The black patch stood out against the faded blue background, with tears on top of tears, so he was nicknamed "the guy with torn pants". Many times, being teased so much, the boy's eyes filled with tears. Only later did she learn that his father had died early, his mother had to shovel coal at the riverbank, and the family was hungry all year round. The mother had no time to take care of her child, let alone have time to make a nice patch...

She recalled that when she gave birth to her first child, the time of kerosene lamps was long past, but she still sewed triangular diapers, and small, pretty dresses and shirts with leftover scraps of fabric, bought cheaply, reused and saved. Children's clothes were easy to sew, not fussy. Whenever she had free time, she would sit and sew each stitch, which she had been skillful at since she was a little girl. The joy was not just about saving a small amount of money. The joy was reflected in the photo of her taking her child to the park, reminding her of a time when it was still difficult and hard but peaceful and warm.

The two children are exactly ten years apart. When she gave birth to her second daughter, it was already the "diaper" age. During her pregnancy, she bought all kinds of things, soft branded baby clothes with rabbits, birds, flowers... in sweet and lovely colors. When the children grew up, they were fashionable, wearing ripped jeans, "rugged" shirts, youthful and pretty...

She smiled to herself as she finished sewing her husband's button. Kids these days like to embroider artistic pictures, "draw" pictures with colored threads... Needles and threads that are rarely used are also good. Be grateful for each day that things get better and more beautiful, not only for your house, but also for other people, like your old friend...

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nho-mot-thoi-cay-kim-soi-chi-18525051021343043.htm