Occupational Hazzard

One would think, that after all these years of teaching young children, that I would have built immunity to virtually any virus that could possibly rear its ugly head. But no, evidently not. I've been sick for 6 days now. I've missed the last two days of work, which is decidedly NOT good. What started as a head cold seems to have morphed into some flu-like monster. I'm tired of being sick. I must be close to using up my sick leave for this school year. I've been feeling so rotten that I've barely been able to knit. I used up a couple of partial balls of cotton and made a dishrag, and that was all I had in me.

Bob and I have been looking at rentals for our Spring Break trip to Charleston. Christy has been a great help sending information. We are looking for something on the beach. Chris and Bob are putting together a schedule of things to see that should keep us all very busy.

Time to get more drugs and head back to bed. Sniff....

Custom order completed

Last week, I completed a custom ordered bag. The bag was supposed to be a duplicate of a bag I made about a year ago. I learned several things from this process. (A) I don't make bags to be duplicated. (B) You can't always match colors of hand painted yarn--especially difficult if you don't keep track of color numbers or names. (C) It causes me stress to try to duplicate something which I had no intention of ever duplicating. I ended up purchasing a couple hundred dollars worth of Malibrigo trying to match the colors of the original bag, which I could only remember from photographs which may or may not have been accurately representing the colors. Not that I am all that upset about adding Malibrigo to my stash, but I was never able to perfectly match the colors. The duplicate bag was most obviously darker in colors, but did turn out to be similar in size, style, and had a matching button. Lesson learned: do NOT promise to duplicate bags in the future!

Our anniversary

Yesterday was our 6th wedding anniversary. Anniversaries are a time of reflection and remembering the time that has passed. It does not seem possible that six years has passed since our wedding day. Upon further reflection, when looking at what has been accomplished in that time, it amazes me how much has transpired since. The children are now grown. Only Katie remains in school, now her Junior year of college. Christy made the move far away from home, and a horrible boyfriend situation. She has grown into a responsible woman, caring for her home, and enjoying a great new job. Bobby has been to war and back. He is forever changed by the experiences of his young life as a soldier. He is continuing to find his way in this civilian life while learning how to interpret and live with the horrors he's seen. I am grateful that Christy and Bobby remain close, caring for each other, so that neither is alone so far from home. Ryan is now happily married himself, a homeowner, and working in a job that he loves. Bob and I have cleared our land and built our house. We have found a way to meld two families, each of us caring for the other's children as if they are our own. We are continuing to grow as a couple, learning about and from each other. Marriage, at any time of life, under any circumstances, isn't easy and requires a great deal of work, patience, understanding and compassion. Ours is no exception. But at this time of reflection, I realize and am grateful that we found each other. We are a blessing to each other and to our children. I feel a sense of accomplishment that we have come this far, and I look forward to what is yet to come.

The passage of a passion

So, I heard today that an acquaintance has made the decision to sell off all her fiber related books, spinning wheel and sewing machine. She is no longer able to participate in this craft due to a chronic illness that makes it too painful for her. Since hearing this, I've been giving it a lot of thought. I was very into knitting and crochet when I was in high school and college. I walked away from it when my children were in school and I was involved in all the after-school frenzy that is the teen lifestyle of today. Did I miss it? A bit, but frankly I was so busy with my kids that I hardly thought about spending time for myself. What would it mean for me if I had to give it up today?

At first, I was so sad for this committed fiber person. That would be my first reaction if I realized that I could no longer physically participate in this passion. Sadness. Upon further thought, I found inspiration in her approach. She is selling off everything and using the cash to develop a new passion. I found myself interested in the research involved in learning and jumping into something completely new and different. I visualized shopping for the new supplies and planning how things would be set up. I imagined the excitement of the challenge of starting over.

In the end, life is about passages and passion. As we grow and move through the stages of life; things change. The key to really living is to find passion, be it new or old, in whatever stage of life you are currently experiencing. The next time I see this person, I intend to thank her for reminding me of this important life lesson. For me, I feel passion when I am able to be creative. Do I need fiber to feel creative? No, there are many avenues for creativity. But, I realize that when I am frustrated, feeling trapped, feeling like the lifeblood is being sapped from me; it is usually because my creativity is being stifled. In that situation, I must change my circumstance through either changing my situation or finding a way to bring creativity back into the picture.

I will end this post with a photo I took of some beautiful roses that my daughter brought me last week. She happened upon them in a store and said that they caused her to think of me. She knows I love yellow roses. These roses were just tossed into a vase of water and have become more beautiful each and every day. They have opened perfectly without a loss of a petal or a tinge of brown. I have enjoyed them so much. And, each time I look at them, they cause me to think of her.

Happy 2008!

My husband, kids and I had a great time at the big New Year's Eve party last night. It was totally fabulous to be able to spend the evening with them. We always have a great time when we are together.

Ryan and Audrey were celebrating their first anniversary. Somehow Ryan ends up with the wimpy horn every year.

Katie looked fantastic, as always. She enjoyed a bit of the bubbly as the last few seconds of 2007 tick away.

I love this picture of my "babies".... Where did the time go? They are all grown up, but will always be my babies.

And Bob and I enjoyed it all; the kids, the music, and celebrating our 6th anniversary.

Happy New Year to one and all!