This is my first post back in the WordPress saddle for 2025 and I want to share how grateful I am for the opportunity to step away, work on some other projects and spend loads of time with family and friends. I know I missed many of your posts and for that, I’m sorry. I wish you all good health and happiness in the year to come.
And now…a post that’s really a sweet message from me and from my sister Lisa. In part, it answers the question, ‘What did you do on your holiday break?’
Lisa’s Patch Jacket 😊
I’m not big on resolutions or proclamations – especially not public disclosures. I typically renew my commitments to health and wellness habits and privately chide myself for not sticking to the game plan that looked enticing twelve months prior. Good intentions that get away from me but I gave up the self-loathing aspect. Holiday time at our house is accompanied by many birthdays and anniversaries and it’s a whirlwind of celebratory fun.
This year, I had some extended time to visit with my sister Lisa. The dear disabled one who’s often my personal North Star – reminding me of what matters most. Holidays are full of ghosts for Lisa; memories that are complicated as she sifts through moments that are both winsome and painful.
When she made a special request – asking if we could spend some time doing maintenance on her ‘patch jacket‘ I was worried. It’s Lisa’s living legacy of her life with our parents – a nylon windbreaker that became the repository of thirty years’ worth of sewn-on souvenirs. Patches from all the world – collected by Lisa and our parents in their travels. It’s like a wearable travelogue, I suppose, except that many of her patches arrived as gifts when her ambition of filling every square inch became well-known. For many years, friends and family members contributed colorful, embroidered patches from their places of work and their own travels.
What I love most about Lisa’s jacket? It’s a physical embodiment of love; big, sweeping arms that can still wrap her up with goodness as she remembers each and every contribution. In some ways, it’s artwork. In many ways – to Lisa – it’s the most precious thing she owns because there’s a story associated with every single patch.
As we checked each sewn-on treasure looking for loose threads or wear, Lisa shared what she remembered about each precious patch – especially the name of the gift giver and any associated anecdotes. The next time Lisa gives me a tour of her jacket I’ll record what she has to say. Some of her memories are hilarious and slanderous. Her recall is THAT good. I don’t know if my photos capture all of the various ‘police department’ patches but trust me. There are stories. I’ll leave it at that.
I was expecting some painful bits, and they came. Lisa’s tearful recall of battling with our mom, Sue, about the placement of certain patches and the times that Sue tried to sew while inebriated. Lisa was quick to point out a couple of blood stains that will forever provide DNA evidence that Sue was the seamstress.
But there were victories for Lisa in the ‘patch placement wars‘ and I steered her to those stories. The memories she has of holding her ground, reminding our mom that the jacket was HERS are triumph tales. Lisa’s jacket is her personal patchwork quilt, her own magical mosaic.
Loads of love – from me and from Lisa, too!
Vicki 😊
Click here for more posts about my sweet disabled sister, Lisa.
Hi – I’m Victoria, Vicki, Dr. Vicki. I hold a doctorate in Adult Education and I’m a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), and author of Surviving Sue | Eckhartz Press.
Check out this link to learn more about my book “Surviving Sue” – all about resilience and love.
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Victoria Ponders 
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