When I was young I loved blankets, not just for sleeping but for cuddling, for cozy reading props and for blanket forts made by draping them over a card table and then crawling underneath. Being “tucked in” at night was sometimes the best part of my day.
I would kiss both sides of my pillow twice for good luck. Don’t ask me how kissing my pillow turned into a “luck ritual” but it was a habit I had picked up quite young and then I was afraid to stop for fear of something bad happening to me the next day.
Just before I closed my eyes I imagined that, covered by piles of heavy blankets, I was feeling the best possible feeling. I believed if I wished it, I could feel this way forever. This was a wish I never made though. I was afraid to use such an important wish too soon. Suppose someday I enjoyed the feeling of bungee jumping and I had already used up my wish… then where would I be?
Just the expression “cover me” brings a sense of safety and comfort. How many times have you been in a jam and needed a major bail out, only to feel a great sense of relief upon hearing “I’ve got you covered”? Or the sense of kindness you feel when you can “cover” someone else in their hour of need. What could be more beautiful than a snow-covered mountain or a field covered in flowers? How about a strawberry covered in chocolate or a child covered in leaves? Being covered can be a very good thing.
I have had many special blankets cover me over the years. Afghans knitted by my mom, patchwork quilts made by my Grandma Violet, and even a couple of store-bought fuzzy blankets that are never the same after one trip through the washer and the dryer. The NAP blanket my husband bought me a few years ago was right at the top of my list of coverings until this Christmas…. all of the above have now been replaced by my new ultimate favorite blanket, the electric lap quilt!
I didn’t expect this gift. I found it tucked away in my mudroom after a neighbor stopped by for the holidays. It was wrapped round and long like a sleeping bag. This is one of those gifts I didn’t even know I needed. Now I think I’d be pressed to do without it!
It’s plugged in and available in our living room on a firstcome, first-to-fight-for-it, basis. I even appreciate our house being a little chilly this season just so I can use my blanket.
Our lab Lakota likes to curl up and take a snooze on this toasty red velour treat. I turn it on low for her and she snores loudly in a deep sleep, soaking up the heat. I am guessing that if dogs could make a wish for a “forever feeling” it would be a nap on the electric quilt. P.S. I’ve got you covered.
America is not a blanket woven
from one thread, one color, or
one cloth. America is woven
of many strands. I would
recognize them and let it so
remain. Our fate is to become
one, and yet many. This is not
prophecy, but description.
Jesse Jackson
and Ralph Ellison
Taste of Home columnist Sandy (Anderson) Holthaus lives on a farm in South Haven, MN with her husband, Michael, and their children Zoe, Jack and Ben. Her heart remains on the North Shore where she grew up with her parents, Art and LaVonne Anderson of Schroeder. She enjoys writing about her childhood and mixes memories with delicious helpings of homestyle recipes.
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