OCR Text |
Show Page 8 THE OGDEN VALLEY NEWS Volume IX Issue IV December 1, 2003 That Darn Coat! By Drienie Hattingh “We promise, Drienie, we won’t do any fun stuff while you are away!” Elaine promised at the last bible study class before I left for six weeks to visit my youngest in Duluth, Minnesota. Yolandi needed some pampering and good food while she entered into this new phase in her life—going to college to study as a nursing assistant. I wanted to wake her up in the morning with a steaming cup of coffee and a good breakfast. And, just like any Mother, I also wanted to give her apartment a thorough cleaning while I was there—it’s what mother’s do. I knew all of this would help immensely while she readied herself for a future in which she wanted to be of service to others. Elaine knew that I love all the “getting ready for Christmas” so she assured me that they wouldn’t decorate our church, have the cookie exchange, go caroling at Valley Market, or anything like that before I returned. I wanted to visit Yolandi to support her, but November and the beginning of December were such exciting times in the Valley! I’d miss the first snow of the season that would turn our Valley into a winter wonderland, and the surrounding mountains into a wondrous sight! November is also the month that Johan and I would celebrate our 34th anniversary—and my birthday! And the Eden Coffee and Cocoa Company would be opening its door for the first time. Many of us in the Valley are almost as excited as the owner, Drew, is. We cannot wait to actually sit down while enjoying our favorite coffee or hot cocoa drink! Liberty horse property! 6 BD, 3BA, additional garage/workshop w/ covered boat/RV storage. $310,000! So it was with a heavy heart that I said good-bye to Johan and my friends in the Valley. While having a farewell Cappuccino (my usual—brave and very dry) at Valley Market visiting with Justin, Drew, and Lisa, they kidded me about Yolandi. Having met her before, they knew that I never knew what to expect after not seeing her in a long time. For instance, what would the color of her hair be? Sometimes I’m scared I might not recognize her! But this time of year it would be easy. She will be wearing that awful old coat that she grew so attached to and refuses to replace with any other. Seven birthdays and Christmases have come and gone with 14 attempts to give her a new coat; still . . . she’s wearing the same dreaded coat that her thoughtful sister brought Yolandi when she came back from France. It was a very unusual, dark brown, hairy creation. Even brand-new, it looked like something the dogs dragged in. Now, seven grueling years later, it looks much worse. Secretly I hoped that Yolandi would not like the gift her sister brought her, but no such luck! She threw her tan, all wool, nicely tailored coat on the floor and put the hairy creation on—never to be parted from it! The coat from Paris was indeed one of a kind—just like Yolandi. Through the seven years, the dreaded coat became part of Yolandi’s attire, just like the well-intended boots that I bought her in Vail, Colorado five years ago. I thought they would keep her feet warm and dry in the cold Minnesota winters. But then Yolandi took a liking to them. She wore them summer and winter, with jeans and dresses. Now, five years later the fronts of the boots are worn away. The shoelaces have been replaced a dozen times but, regrettably, the boots are very, very durable and will probably be part of Yolandi’s unique wardrobe forever—just like her dreaded forever coat that started looking like a coat a street person would wear. The first couple of years I took the dreaded coat to the dry cleaners whenever I could separate them, hoping that the cleaners might loose it somehow. Once a golden opportunity presented itself! The dry cleaning attendant had to answer the phone while he was putting the dreaded coat into a bag. With the distraction, I saw my chance! I was gone before he could turn around and ask my name and phone number! I drove away, patting myself on the back for being so marvelously inventive! Why did I not think of this before! Now the coat is gone forever! But my victory was short lived. One beautiful fall day while I was happily shopping for a new coat for my unsuspecting daughter— picturing her in every beautiful, fresh, new stylish creation—my cell phone rang. It was my editor saying that I should call the dry cleaners. The young man at the cleaners was very proud that he saved the day by recognizing me. “And . . . “ said the interfering young man, “Mrs. Hattingh—I just loved your last column!” I did not give up. At the end of every winter, I secretly placed the coat in a basement closet way in the back, hoping that she would forget about the coat during the four months of summer and wear one of the other coats that I’ve tried putting her into through the years. But, as soon as the trees started changing color, Yolandi would start rummaging through the hall closet. “Mom, where is my coat?” She would ask in a threatening voice. Brenda would look at me with a knowing smile. I would cross my fingers behind my back and innocently ask, “Isn’t it in the hall closet with the other coats, sweetie?” And, still innocently, without looking at her, I would say . . . Dear, why don’t you wear that nice coat that we got you last Christmas—just until you find the old one?” “Nice try Mom!” Yolandi would call out and Brenda would echo laughingly “Nice try Mom . . . “ dodging a punch I aimed at her for bringing the stupid coat into our lives in the first place. And, soon, Yolandi would track her coat down in the basement. “Thanks for having it dry-cleaned Mom!” She’d call out while hugging her forever coat that was still wrapped in the cleaner’s plastic bag. In later years—when the elbows started to wear through, and I was too ashamed to take it to the cleaners, I started washing it. After all, there was no way that washing this “dry-clean-only” coat could make it look worse. By accident, I chose the hot setting, hoping that it would shrink. No such luck! A year or so later, I started patching the elbows with brown material that was the closest I could find to the forlorn, dark color, and texture. Still later—a year or so later—I persuaded Yolandi to let me try and repair the holes in the coat’s pockets. I made new pockets and slip stitched it over the torn Eden horse property. 6 BD, 3 BA home on Mountain Green Beautiful Trapper’s 2.30 acres w/barn. Includes mother-in-law apt. in walkout basement. Price Slashed to $279,900! Lease purchase/seller financing possible. OFFER PENDING Spacious 5 BD, 3.5 bath. Huntsville home.w/ panoramic views 2.18 acres. Horse property Just $289,900! Spacious 3 bedroom, 3.5 bath, elegant custom home with sweeping Ogden Valley views. Offered at $289,900! Approximately 1.8 acres in Fox Hollow Estates in Mountain Green. Panoramic views ALL OFFERS CONSIDERED!! Too New for Picture! Approximately 4200 square foot brick home $289,900! Call for details! Point home. 4 bedroom, 3.5 bath, main floor Master on .31 acre lot. Views from every room. Offered at $295,000! Just Listed! Huntsville $187,000 All remodelled. Brand new kitchen and bathroom cupboards, new carpet & paint throughout. Great price for a 5 BD, 2 BA,on 1 acre! OFFER PENDING Just Listed! Huntsville town. 5 Bedroons, 2 Baths, Rambler on .75 acres. Price Slashed to $169,000! 3 BD, 2.5 BA, .92 acre. Liberty horse property. Quiet cul-de-sac, gorgeous setting. Priced to blow out fast! $237,200! Lots / Acreage Ski Lake Estates OLD Radford Hills building lot. 1 acreGorgeous views! East facing - Best deal around. Only $94,900 S Only $179,900 WOLF LODGE CONDO, Huntsville 2.64 acres building. lot. Sweeping Valley views! 1 BD, hardwood floors, slate tile,new paint, wood stove. Nice! Furnished. Lots of amenities: Only $89,500 pockets (I wasn’t allowed to replace the existing pockets), and did the same with the cuffs. I repaired the torn buttonholes and bought new buttons to replace the missing ones, and I washed it again on extra hot. Now, as I packed to go to Minnesota, I could not help but wonder what the dreaded coat would look like since I saw it last winter— when it looked like a coat a street person would not wear. Justin and Drew kidded me about my youngest and what I might have to face when I stepped off the plane in Duluth, Minnesota. She did warn me that Yolandi had colored her hair—again. In July, Yolandi visited her sister in New York and I got a call from Brenda. “Mom, I want to tell you something.” I was scared. “What did Yolandi do?” I wanted to know. “She’s got a ring in her face Mom, and it’s not that bad but I had to warn you before you see her again.” I could not believe my ears (where rings should be) “Mom . . . it’s just a stage . . . You know Yolandi . . . she’s got to do and try it all . . . “ Brenda’s plea ended. I did not even want to know where the ring was, and did not have the heart to tell Johan. While chatting to my friends at the Valley Market, I told them about the ring in my daughter’s beautiful face, and that I have yet to find out exactly where it’s located. They laughed while putting awful images in my mind, like a huge ring through her nose or her eyelid. (Could they even do that?) Or worse—through her tongue! They met Yolandi last Christmas and found her enchanting. She does have that effect on people; she has the compassion of Mother Teresa and the righteousness of Ghandi. Her love for all living beings knows no end. Her many loyal friends and pets through the years can testify to that. She is loved, despite her dress code and ever-changing hair and rings in inappropriate places. One of her friends, Judy, stated laughingly, “Yolandi won’t be Yolandi without that coat!” Now, a couple of weeks later, I’m sitting in a coffee shop in Duluth waiting to go pick Yolandi up from college. I’m having a great time with her and her friends, and love cooking dinners for them all. They love my banana cream pie, and we often have coffee together at Amazing Graze Coffee Shop. Yolandi is doing very well at college and loves it. Her blond hair is streaked with variations of brown, pink, purple and green, and the dreaded coat needs major mending. And I’ve come to terms with the ring in her face. I console myself in the knowledge that there must be something much worse than a ring through my lovely little girl’s lip. There has to be . . . And I did tell Johan about the ring, at last. He surprised me by saying, with his typical humor, “Don’t worry so! We will decorate it with Christmas ornaments when she comes visiting in December.” Only $75,000 Owner / Agent in Huntsville. 1.27 acres. Gorgeous views. Only $89,900! Dyan Gill 801 644-5853 |