“The greatest gift is a passion for reading. It is cheap, it consoles, it distracts, it excites, it gives you knowledge of the world and experience of a wide kind…” – Elizabeth Hardwick
Books connect us in ways that nothing else can. It shows us a world that exists that we might never see in real life. It can transport us to places we want to travel, schools of magic and it can weave a story that reminds us that in the end, we’re all connected by words.
For Ren Burkardt, from Connecticut, books are more than just a way to pass time. Reading was something, she said, that connected her to her mom and her grandfather. Ren taught herself to read at age 4, and from that moment on her mom, Linda, would read a chapter of Harry Potter each night before bed, she said.
Her grandfather would take her to their local bookstore. He would make sure that little Ren left those trips with her arms completely loaded with all the books she could read. From there, Ren went on to study English and literature in college in Nottingham, United Kingdom, after high school. There she immersed herself in the language.
That bond between Ren, her mom and her grandfather meant so much to Linda. So during a recent trip when Ren came home to visit her family, she saw a giant roll, wrapped up. Linda is a quilter, she said. And over the years had given blankets to family members and new babies that were born into the family.
But this time, the present was for Ren. She said she was shocked, and thought at first it was for her sister, Sam. So when her siblings helped her unwrap the gift, she couldn’t believe her eyes at what was inside the oddly wrapped gift. It was a giant quilt made to resemble a bookcase, and on it there were 125 books that meant so much to Ren over the years.
Ren Burkardt hugs her mom, Linda, after receiving the special bookcase quilt her mom had made for her. Photo courtesy of Burkardt
“How do I put the right words to something so sentimental and personal – I was just so floored this beautiful thing mom created wasn’t tied to a life event but just based on who I am and things I love,” Ren said. Included among the books were memories – pictures of Ren as a young girl, alongside her grandfather; his favorite bird, the chickadee; a picture of Sam on her wedding day; and the last book her grandfather had read before his death, “Jonathan Livingston Seagull.”
The blanket was more than she could have ever expected, she said. “There were a lot of silent tears rolling down my cheeks and I just listened as (mom) explained the reasons behind additions included and titles that were in certain colors or on specific shelves.
@renelizabeth Part Two: My heart on display ❤️ Thank you, Mom @lindavanvalkenbur8 #Christmas #Gift #Quilt #QuiltersOfTikTok #fyp #foryoupage #BookTok #QuiltTok #ChristmasGift #Christmas2022 #Library #Books #Reader ♬ When She Loved Me – Lyn Lapid
The aspiring author doesn’t know if any other gift will ever come as close to being this perfect. The blanket was, Ren said, “like hearing a soul-deep message that I am enough as I am.” Watch below for a look at this amazing gift from Ren’s mom.
Sources: Daily Mail | Happily News
