Warm Gestures LLC.

Woman creates Blankets to Comfort the Bereaved

Battle Creek Shopper
Piercing Glances by Cheryl Pierce
November 8, 2007

I miss my mom every day, but there's something about the changing of the seasons that makes the yearning especially poignant. I was feeling the heartache last week when, for the first time this year, I saw my breath in the still, crisp morning air. Standing outside, I could suddenly smell the aroma of Mom's kitchen on Thanksgiving. I heard her say how she hated to see the leaves fall and the days shorten. I also felt her sweet sprit dancing around me in the dim morning light. It's been 16 months since my mom died and I miss her every day.

Kathy Gardener misses her mom, too. Kathy's mom died when she was 20. She has also lost three children and a husband. It was out of her own grief that Kathy decided to add a dimension of comfort to her garden and landscape business: making grave blankets. "Everyone deals with death differently, " Kathy said. "And yet, since I started this business, I found that I can relate to each one - those who've lost moms, dads, children, or spouses - because I've been there."

Kathy, who lives in Olivet, donated one of her blankets to a Battle Creek family last year. "In the spring, I unexpectedly received a card and a check from the mother of the girl who died," Kathy said, her eyes welling up with tears. "The card read, Thank you for keeping my daughter warm, all winter" Kathy cries a lot. She can't help it. Other's stories touch her deeply. I ordered a blanket for my mom the day Kathy came to the Shopper to place an ad.

When I arrived in Olivet two days later to pick it up, I was surprised by how beautiful it was. I had seen pictures of other blankets and I thought I knew what to expect. I was wrong. Kathy had painstakingly ensured that the type and color of bow and flowers adorning the fresh greenery was just right. Mom would love it.

When my dad and sister and I placed the blanket on the grave, we were silent. The sun came out from behind a cloud and leaves began to fall gently all around us, some kissing the blanket as they landed. Mom stood with us, smiling.

Cheryl Pierce is associate editor for the Battle Creek Shopper News.