mitten stains

i thought of this really lovely story today while i was knitting mittens for eva. the mittens are white with a black snowflake on the back of each hand. i was dubious about the whiteness but she insisted. whenever she wants white things- white shirts, white dresses, white mittens, i do my best to make peace with stains, because they do happen, sometimes. stains happen and while i have a killer stain remover, i still feel dread about the stains. the forever-ness of stains. so today i was knitting the second mitten and she was walking around the kitchen eating pomegranate seeds and i was feeling protective about the white yarn and then i thought about the mittens being finished and eva eating pomegranate seeds while wearing the mittens and how the mittens would be stained pink in some places and how difficult it would be to get the pomegranate juice out and how i could think about that in terms of sadness, as in, i would be so sad because the mittens would be ruined or i could think about it in terms of happiness, as in, the stains would be a reminder of this time when she was 6 1/2, flitting around the kitchen, smiling and twirling and singing about pomegranates and this being her first pomegranate in a whole year and how happy the world can be. and i liked that story so much better than the story about the mittens being ruined and i thought about how sweet everything could be and i almost wished it would happen, that the mittens would be stained with a memory in this way, something to remind me, to let me hold onto this moment of my life, of my daughter's life, forever.