Bathing Suit Lining Man

My family pulled names the winter I traveled across the country--I was to be my grandmother's secret Santa. Mike and I were in our early twenties. We traveled south, keeping close to the water. Mike surfed, I fished, swam and collected shells...

We had a small tent, a sleeping roll, a few belongings, a dog and a thousand dollars each, that we had saved from our summer jobs. I had to send a gift back home to my grandmother--I was her only gift giver and here I was, on the road...

This little guy is made from the lining of Michael's worn out bathing suit, a few shells, a feather and a needle and thread. I mailed him back for Christmas. I was so glad to hear that she really liked the gift. When my grandmother passed on, she must have given the little guy to my mom, who then took him with her to her assisted living place, her room in the Alzheimers wing and then to her final room at a nursing home. When mom passed on, her remaining belongings were laid out on my brother's table--(from a house just full of everything to a few possessions lovingly arranged on a table)--and there sat the bathing suit lining man. I took him home with me.