Back to School Sweaters

Years ago, when Henry was barely a year old, we had an ice storm that knocked out power in our area for over a week. We stayed in our house until it got too cold, moved in with Micah's parents until their power went out, and ultimately spent the better part of the Christmas and New Year's season that year at my parents' house, waiting for our power to be restored. During the early part of the adventure, when we were bundling up and hunkering down, I realized Henry didn't have enough warm clothes to get him through the cold spell. As we sat around by candlelight at my in-laws' house, I knit him a little brown, hooded sweater. While I'd knit things in the past, that was the moment that launched a love affair.

As the kids grew from babies to toddlers to preschoolers, I often made little sweaters for them to wear. It was fun to make them and, to be completely honest, much cheaper than buying their winter clothes. When Henry started preschool, I made a little sweater that he could wear in the fall to school. I told him I'd knit all kinds of love into it and prayed for him while I made it, and it was just like wearing a hug. The next year, Thomas wanted a "back to school sweater" too. 

Every year since, for six years running, the kids have asked me for a "back to school sweater." At first it made sense. They were little, they wanted a little reminder of me during the day. Plus, who was going to notice that they were wearing handmade clothes? But each successive year, as they've come to me around this time and said, "Have you started on our sweaters?" I've been surprised that this is still something they want. 

I usually try to feel them out, to assess whether the sweaters are going to cause problems for them with their classmates. Are you sure you want a sweater I've made, and not one from the store? Have you ever told your friends where they come from? Are you ever embarrassed by them? You don't HAVE to have a sweater from me--you won't hurt my feelings! Each year the answer is the same. "We want them! We like having a hug from you to wear to school!"

And so, I'm sitting down again with my needles and yarn and working on the sweaters. The orders this time called for a blue sweater with a letter "H," a Gryffindor-inspired grey sweater, and a light blue sweater inspired by a Harry Potter character. This year I'm more aware than ever that this may be the last time I make these sweaters for Henry. He'll be headed off to middle school next year, and growing up in many ways. So my prayers as I knit this year are even more forward-thinking. 

I love what the sweaters have come to represent. What began as a necessity has now been threaded (ha! No pun intended...) all throughout their school years. The time spent on the sweaters has forced me to slow down, to think about each child, to pray for them. The styles and colors and buttons they've chosen through the years have represented them in those stages. And the warmth wrapped around them has reminded them, in hard moments during the school day, that they're not alone. Sometimes the unexpected traditions are the ones that hold the best memories.