My mother always has a needle and thread distributed around our home: ready for usage and instant repair. I would always her she had the energy to sew clothes that were inconvenient for usage; some clothes were too big, not to fit to my liking, or had tears in them. She would grab her thread and carefully place it through the minuscule hole that consisted in the needle. She carried out the threading with precision, the type of precision that left you bewildered and lost for words, wondering whether or not the clothing was touched. This influenced my curiosity on where she had learned her skills and how can learn to do what she does with the thread and the pointy needle. My mother began her lecture. Telling me that she had learned from her mother, my grandmother, who had come from Missouri. Knitting, crocheting, and threading were things that my grandmother used as an outlet for stress and a gateway to joy and prosperity of her spirit. Bringing the hobby with her from Missouri allowed my grandmother to be happier as she faced new challenges in a new state: where she had only a few family members residing. This is a part of my grandmother’s cultural practices, and this is something that will forever be cherished and taken with me and those have learned in my family. 

– Antonio Cardine

Relationship:  Grandchild of im/migrant Grandchild of im/migrant