Julie Mendelson’s needlepoint Snowmen by the Month are not merely 12 decorative handiwork projects: They’re the Van Goghs of needlepoint snowmen.
“I like that description,” chuckles the recently retired Lake Highlands school counselor. “I’ve been doing this for 25 years – don’t ask me why. I’ve always enjoyed crafts, and I really got into this. I’ve done countless pillows over the years and just sent my first Christmas stocking to my niece’s 2-year-old in Boston.”
Whether you consider the moody “Starry Starry Night” of the October snowman’s sky or the bittersweet melting resignation of August’s fellow, Mendelson seems to have some kind of offbeat artistic ability to communicate – through color and texture and body language – what it feels like to weather the year’s changes via a band of stoically plump soldiers with rakish carrot noses.
But then the special ability to communicate was her stock and trade for almost three decades, first as a school counselor in her native Ohio, then for 21 years in neighborhood schools.
“I started out at Forest Meadows, then Lake Highlands High School, and then I helped open the Freshman Center and was there for my last three years,” Mendelson says.
“Senior high was definitely my favorite. It is so rewarding to start with a group of sophomores and see how they mature – physically, mentally, emotionally – and watch them decide their future.”
“It’s such a special time in their lives, and it’s very rewarding to be a part of it; you form a wonderful bond that lasts for years. I have so many that I hear from all the time – I’m never wanting for wedding invitations.”
Any she worried about – who she was surprised to see “make it”?
“Many,” she says, laughing heartily, then suddenly falling quiet. “It amazes me how some of these kids do as well as they do. You see how fragile they are, and yet some how they rise to the challenge. They are literally raising themselves in many instances, and yet they manage it somehow. You just wonder what could they have been like if their parents had played more of an active role in their school and their personal lives.
“One former student’s father, who I ran into recently while volunteering at the Arboretum, asked me how I would advise parents these days. You know…the role of a parent is really tough; so many times during those years (high school), parents tend to let go, let the kids start going their own way.
“But the most successful ones are the parents who are on top of those kids all the time. They know who their kids are with, where their kids are. They know their kids’ friends, and they know their kids’ friends’ parents. It takes a tremendous amount of energy.”
Mendelson says she has seen a number of involved parents, and she credits the spirit of the community: “When I would have people come through the high school that were being relocated to Dallas, they’d say: Why would I want to bring my child here as opposed to somewhere else?
“And I’d say: Well, one of the things that appears to be a huge attraction for Lake Highlands is the feeling of being its own very distinct community, with huge support for the schools.”
“Even after kids graduate, many come back, live here – some of them are teachers here now. I think there’s a huge comfort zone you don’t find in a lot of places. They enjoyed it in their youth and want to provide that kind of environment for their own families.”
“And I marvel at the wonderful things the Lake Highlands Exchange Club and the Women’s League do for our young people…the scholarships, the supplies for students in need – it’s astounding.”
She smiles.
“So being part of that was very rewarding. But 30 years was enough. I had always wanted to ‘go’ when I felt like I was at the top of my game.”
Now Mendelson says she has more time for volunteer work, including the school, of course. And she has more time to express herself artistically.
Or, as her favorite set of handiwork symbolizes, to every thing there is a reason: “And I just had a great time doing them.”
