A cross stitch chart from Blackbird Designs.  From the Anniversaries Of The Heart series.

Read the poignant story behind this design from Alma:

"My grandfather lost his mother when he was 3 years old. His older sister Clara cared for him and he thought of her as a mother. In 1918, the influenza pandemic infected 1/3 of the world's population and Clara was one of the casualties. She became ill in December. My grandfather remembered watching over his older sister as his brother hitched up the horses to the sled. The snow was blowing as his brother flew down the road to get the doctor. Clara was so ill and there was no time to loose. The doctor and brother arrived back at the farm, only to find they had arrived too late.

My grandfather told me the story over and over. The grief of this event seemed always fresh as he shared his story with me. This new "Anniversaries of the Heart" sampler remembers Clara Ellen.

During my last visit to Polk, Nebraska, I cleaned around my grandparents marker at the cemetery and I noticed Clara's gravesite. As I looked at her marker, I realized I hadn't known her middle name was Ellen. While rubbing the grass away from her stone, I knew she was the one I wanted to remember on my next sampler. She was only17 when she died...and I didn't want her memory forgotten. My grandfather is buried next to his wife and sister in a small prairie cemetery in Nebraska. The tall grass waves in the wind over them as they remain close together."