The Transition of a Basket

When I was a young, excited, expectant mother, I had a baby shower. I received a basket, and in that basket there was a hand-made crocheted blanket for my daughter. Bright pink, with hearts crocheted so carefully. A trim of different colors. Hand-made with love by a woman who is dear to our family's hearts. It continues to be a cherished blanket of Arianna's.

The basket went on after Arianna was born to be used as a home for diapers, burpies, receiving blankets, and the like. We kept it in the living room for quick access to those items. We did the same with the basket for when Jonas and Josiah were newborns.

As our newborns grew into infants and toddlers, we used this same basket for baby toys. The rattles, "chew toys", things that were special for the babies to play with, that the older kids knew not to run off with. The babies knew where they could find their toys. It locked so we could keep them from stringing the toys all over the place.

Now that we're heading into a new era of parenthood, with Arianna heading into Kindergarten, the basket has found a new job. It now holds homeschool curriculum. It has held up to the test of time, and has found a new career. We open it, pull out what we need to teach her, and when we need to we lock it so they don't mess up everything before we use it.

A basket has transitioned through life, but so have I. I've been a mom for five years. I've gone from being nervous, excited, to frustrated and sleeplessly hoping for the next stage in my child's life, to comfortable and enjoying every minute God blesses me with these kids! I fondly look forward to what lies ahead for us... and that basket...