I hated to throw that towel away.
It was the only thing I had of my grandma's
Besides her love of chicken and dumplings
And her laugh till you cry mentality.

What was I supposed to do?
Frame it? Put it in the closet and forget about it?
I decided to use it,
And I have for almost 15 years.
70s brown, with two big burnt orange flowers on it,
It's faded now, and almost see-through.

Using that towel has kept her in the forefront of my mind,
And so many things I didn't understand,
I've thought about deeply through the years
While being a mom myself.
I've often wanted to throw in the towel.
I've looked instead through its threadbare holdings.

And so today, I've taken the towel
And folded it three corners.
I placing it on my rosewood dresser,
And I'm going to leave it there for a while.

-jenn