The sweater will never forget the hands that purchased her.  She had been handled with care and disregard for years. Unfolded and refolded.  Tossed into the bottom of a pile and stretched onto plastic mannequins.  Just waiting for the day when a set of hands would gently fold her into one of those brown paper bags and send her to a new home.  She will never forget the crusty, itchy, young hands that picked her out, the look on the woman’s face as she said “oh yes, this is the one”.  

For many years that sweater became as much a part of that woman as the hands that selected her. But over the years she saw the light and felt the cold air less and less.  Until all she saw for quite some time were the four walls of a handmade wooden chest.  It was comfy and cool in that chest, so really she had no reason to complain.  Although, the hand knit wool sweater did so desperately wish those crusty, dry hands would pick her up and pull her on.  

Years later, the wool sweater was in the middle of her third nap of the day when a loud squeak jumped her awake and a bright light blinded her to the eyes gazing back at her. And as the wool sweater had wished every night before going to bed, two hands reached into the chest to pull her out into the fresh light. But it wasn’t the crusty, itchy hands the sweater was so used to feeling over the years. These hands were young and smooth. They reminded her of the hands that first picked her out and she yelped in joy as the young hands gently unfolded her and said “grandma! This sweater is the best, can I wear it?” Oh goodness, these young hands didn’t belong to the original owner of the sweater, but she was being held--now put on!--by the owners granddaughter who would take her on wondrous adventures to gaze upon magical things. And yet, the wool sweater felt sad to leave the home that she had known for so long. But she was excited all the same. And it wasn’t until the young girl called her grandma to tell her about all the adventures she and the sweater had been on that the sweater finally understood the feeling the girl got whenever she put the wool sweater on… love.