Here is the next of the beautiful, inspiring, special contributions coming in to the #MandalasForMarinke remembrance project. I am grateful for each and every amazing contribution.
Contributions should be postmarked by October 15, 2015. Learn more here. If you absolutely can’t meet that deadline but want to participate, please email me at kathryn.vercillo (gmail).
Beautiful Crochet Mandala
Crafter Jodie writes:
“My contribution is a variation on Wink’s “I Love Holland” crochet mandala pattern, which she made to celebrate the coronation of King Willem Alexander of The Netherlands. I was in Holland in 1980 celebrating the passing of the crown from Queen Juliana to Queen Beatrix. This mandala celebrates our Dutch connections.
Meet the Maker
This special contribution comes from Jodie of Lupey Loops. She shares:
“I am contributing to the project to honor Marinke’s legacy to the crochet and blogging worlds, to pay my respects to Wink’s family and all who knew her, and to support you personally in raising awareness of depression.
Jodie blogged about Wink’s death and also blogged about the mandala she made for the project.
She adds:
“Crochet and crafting of any sort can help one to dissociate from pain. I am so sad that Marinke’s pain was so great.”
Find Jodie as Jodiebodie on Ravelry, Jodiebodieworld on Pinterest and as JodieBodie2 on Twitter.
Words by Wink
Wink wrote in her post about her I Love Holland pattern:
“By now I’m sure you’ve all heard that The Netherlands is saying goodbye to Queen Beatrix, and saying hello to King Willem Alexander! Exciting times for our little country by the sea 🙂 To celebrate this, I’ve designed my first mandala pattern to share with you all: the I Love Holland mandala! Inspired by Dutch tulip fields, this mandala will brighten up your home in an instant.”
One of my favorite posts about an experience she had in her home country was when she visited the Seal Rehabilitation Center where she did her seal yarnbomb.
About Depression
One purpose of this project is to raise awareness about depression so each post ends with some facts, thoughts or quotes about depression, suicide and/or mental health. Jodie brought up a really, really important topic that I’m glad she highlighted, so I wanted to share that for this part of the post today:
As I child, I witnessed the confusing and sometimes frightening effects of depression on a parent. I would people a thought for “young carers” of those who suffer depression. They are young people under the age of 25 but can also be as young as 5 years of age. Be mindful that it is hard to support loved ones and by supporting the carers, we are also supporting those with depression. Children may need a helping hand to support their loved ones, but are often overlooked in the care plans of depression sufferers.
The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health shares some great questions kids might have when their parents are depressed, which can aid you in talking to children you know with parents who are struggling with depression. Therese Borchard, writing on 6 things kids should know about parents’ depression, says:
“Since people who are depressed are poor communicators, it is paramount to let the child know that there are other people to turn to until the parent feels better—not only to help with homework, but also to chaperone school functions and so forth. The child needs to learn a very important life skill: to assert one’s needs until he gets the help he needs.”
Beth Andrews makes the point:
“If you are experiencing a clinical depression, the most important thing you can do to help your children is to take care of yourself.”
And Will Keighly notes the impact it can have on the non-depressed parent:
“Everything changes with depression. All the fixed points of the day come up for grabs. I can barely look after myself, let alone the kids, so everything that was previously shared becomes her responsibility. Who’s going to get the kids up, take them to school and be there for them in the evening? Is she going to have to take a day off work? Every decision is down to her, because even if I’m there, I’m not there. And that’s just the practicalities. It’s my emotional absence that affects her the most, because my isolation imposes its own isolation on her.”
Keighly’s article asks whether we should tell our kids when we experience depression. Margarita Tartakovsky has some good tips on this topic.
All contributions to Mandalas for Marinke are so appreciated. They help raise awareness about depression while honoring her work in the same way that this great contribution has done today.
Wow! Again I am impressed with the number of useful resources you have found on the topic. If only that information had been available when I was a child. Reading the links you provided has helped me learn more about my own experience and make more sense of it. Thank you so much, Kathryn.
I am glad the mandala reached you but it looks like it got a little squashed in transit judging by the little folds in the centre, but that, like a lot of things, “will all come out in the wash!” Thank you for taking time and effort to pursue depression from a child’s perspective. I can’t wait to see your exhiition.
Many of the mandalas are getting a little bent in the mail but that’s okay. Nothing in life is perfect and yet it’s still beautiful!