Handicrafts build strong familial bond

Painting and handicrafting during my leisure time is not just a brief escape from busy work, but also a longstanding means of communication between my mom and me.

My mom is skilled at handicrafts and knitted most of my sweaters when I was a child. In my memory, whenever we sat on the sofa watching TV, she was always knitting. Even during the summer, she always had her knitting needles and colorful yarn to ensure that I could have unique sweaters to wear when winter came back around.

I remember when she knitted a sweater for me with a Mickey Mouse pattern, alternating red, black and yellow wool. When I wore it to school, many classmates thought it was store-bought. After learning that it was handmade, they were surprised and envious.

In recent months, my mom has taken a liking to upcycling outdated or ill-fitting denim jeans. She cuts different colored denim fabric and then pieces them together to make satchels and makeup pouches.

Whether in childhood or now, I have always been proud to receive her handmade creations. But what brings me even more joy is watching or listening to her narrate the process of making them.

This process makes me feel a simple joy toward my mom and I realize that doing what you love or having a hobby is an outlet for relieving the great pressures of work and life.

Therefore, nowadays, I like sharing with my mom and others my own paintings and the transformed daily accessories I have created, such as tissue or storage boxes upcycled from milk tea bags.

If the sweaters knitted by my mom were her way of showing care, making the young me feel warm in the old days, then as we grow older, these handicrafts and artworks shared between us have become the medium through which we express love mutually, bringing happiness to both of us.

More importantly, during the exchange process, we are simply ourselves, temporarily forgetting the roles of mother and daughter. We objectively evaluate each other's works and appreciate each other. That's the kind of equal relationship I aspire to have with all my family.