In late April, I mentioned that I was juggling two crochet emergencies, and on April, 30, I managed to get one of them completed: an amigurumi monkey for my mom’s friend from kindergarten, Fran:

I made Georgina because my mother’s best friend from kindergarten was very ill and undergoing a number of medical treatments and tests. It was my hope that Georgina, who fits easily into even a small purse, would be able to accompany my mother’s friend for the myriad appointments that awaited her.

Before sending Georgina off to California, I took her to dinner and the theater. I documented her exploits for my readers, then packed her up with two hats and two boas so that her outer garb could, to some degree, be an expression of her interior landscape.

Soon after sending Georgina, I received a thank you note that read as follows:

Thank you for my sweet little “Georgina”. I just love her! She and I have our good moods & bad ones together. Sometimes we’re sweet and loving, & others, we’re really snotty. We change hats & boas to let people know. I really appreciate your thoughtfulness.

Georgina’s tenure as a traveling companion for medical appointments was a resounding success, but yesterday morning, Georgina’s mission ended as my mom’s friend quietly slipped away in her sleep, having completed this leg of her life’s journey.

For those left behind this is a particularly painful part of that journey, but now I know that there truly is such a thing as a crochet emergency, and sometimes crochet can express sentiments that words cannot.