Stitch by Stitch: What My 86-Year-Old Mother Still Teaches Me About Living the Best Life Now
A reflection on staying useful, sharing wisdom, and stitching a legacy through everyday acts of love
1. Purpose: Staying Useful Keeps Us Alive
After my mother retired, she continued to work part-time. Today, she works four days a week in a factory, teaching new hires how to do their jobs to high-quality standards. She is so particular that when the factory brings in their partners to check quality, she is the demonstrator. To some people, that might sound surprising. To share a little background in her upbringing, her parents lived through the Great Depression and World War II. She grew up during a period of severe economic hardship and global conflict. This era instilled a deep sense of resilience, frugality, delayed gratification, and a strong work ethic in the generation known as Traditionalist/Silent/Builders, depending on which author you reference. She watched the government purchase her family’s farm to build a local airport and then purchase the farm they moved to next to create a three-county-wide lake.
To me, it is one of the clearest examples of how purpose sustains a person over time. At 86 years old, she continues to live with strength, discipline, and a deep sense of usefulness. She does not simply pass time; she invests in it. That kind of steady contribution is not only inspiring in life; it is instructive in leadership.
We quilt a couple of days weekly, when possible, making quilts for family and close friends. Recently, we started making Quilts of Valor, which are given to U.S. service members or veterans who have been touched by war. It serves as a tangible “thank you” for their service, offering both physical warmth and emotional healing.
She mows the grass, tends her flowers, bakes her famous cinnamon rolls for family gatherings, and she doesn’t forget the farm veterinarian, Dr. Brad! All while having the energy to pour into the people she loves. More than anything, she teaches and mentors. She has taught her children, grandchildren, and now great-grandchildren how to bake her famous cinnamon rolls, some of them as young as 2 years old. They start by adding the ingredients already measured out and mixing with their clean tiny hands. Most of them do not like how the ingredients feel when mixing the dough by hand! Then they sprinkle the cinnamon, sugar, and butter mixture over the rolled-out dough. They graduate by kneading the dough, cutting it, and placing it in the buttered baking dish. As a result, they enjoy eating those delicious cinnamon rolls. Precious moments will last a lifetime, helping future generations understand that the key to success is completing the steps from beginning to end, even though they prefer certain steps over others.
💭 What gives you a reason to keep showing up with energy, purpose, and love in this season of your life?
2. Legacy: Love Is Passed Down in Everyday Acts
One of my favorite memories began when my youngest grandson showed interest in sewing. We joked that at just three years old, he may have liked pushing the buttons, but my mother, whom he calls GG, recognized the beginning of something meaningful. She helped him sew a quilt, and together, the three of us finished it. On the back is a racetrack, and every time we visit GG, we pull out that quilt, line up monster trucks and little cars, and race around it together. What started as a sewing project became something much bigger: a shared experience that built confidence, connection, and memory. That is how culture is formed, in repeated moments that teach people they matter.
That joy is contagious. Soon, my oldest grandson wanted to learn too. Together, we made a quilt he now uses when he travels for sports and school activities. Some stitches had to be removed and sewn again. As we carefully pulled them out, we noticed the tiny holes the needle left behind in the fabric. We talked about how those marks could be softened only by gently working the fabric back into place with our hands. It became a quiet lesson: some mistakes can be repaired, but in life, some words and actions cannot be fully undone. That is how legacy works: one act of patience, one lesson, one afternoon at a sewing table can be stitched outward into another life. The gifts my mother gives are not only quilts or cinnamon rolls. She gives confidence, tradition, connection, and love.
💭 Thought question: What are you intentionally creating, in your home, your team, or your work, that helps others feel seen, capable, and valued?
3. Resilience: Keep Moving, Keep Serving, Keep Giving
My mother has taught me to keep moving, keep serving, and to keep sharing. She lives that way every day. She handles stress head-on, stays strong in body and spirit, and continues to show all of us that a meaningful life is built through work, love, resilience, and the willingness to keep giving. For leaders, that example matters. Influence is rarely built in grand moments. More often, it is formed through steadiness, service, and the decision to keep showing up for others. Her example reminds me that legacy is not something we leave behind someday; it is something we build every day, stitch by stitch, act by act, heart to heart.
💭 Thought question: Where in your life are you being invited to keep serving, keep learning, and keep giving rather than slowing your heart toward others?
Author’s note: This reflection is shared in gratitude for the quiet lessons passed from one generation (Silent/Traditionalist/Builders to Baby Boomer to Gen X to Millennial to Zoomer to Alpha) and for the women whose everyday faithfulness becomes a family’s lasting inheritance.
The Legacy Lives On
The lessons my mother gave me were modeled in her ordinary days of hard work, in family, and in the quiet strength of a woman who never stopped giving. I see her legacy not only in what she has done, but in what she continues to awaken in the generations behind her. That is the kind of life well lived I hope to carry forward.
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What lesson from someone you love has shaped the way you lead, serve, or invest in others? I’d love to hear your story. And if you're ready to grow your people and strengthen your learning culture, let's connect. 💛