Yesterday, I posted about being able to get some projects done despite a full weekend and last week I shared a conversation with Quiltsmart Mandy about life with small children and quilting. Some days are easy and some days are a losing battle.
The reality is that as a mom of a 4-year-old who walks the fine line of independence and not being able to get out of bed without Mommy's help, I never know if my creative to-do list will pass his approval. While I struggle to figure out a balance with one child, I stand in awe of moms who dod it while being completely outnumbered by a collection of compact carbon copies who can turn a quiet afternoon into a whirlwind with flurries that rival Mother Nature's best efforts.
But the one thing that most moms learn from that first week they are tasked with caring for these tiny human being who will one day run the world is multi-tasking. Well, that and how to sleep standing up.
Those early years where your child sleeps so little you think you'll never be able to use those new sheets are just building up your tolerance to sleep deprivation because you have to wait until after the little ones are asleep and the husband has settled into the recliner with the remote control.
"Night Life" takes on a whole new meaning when it comes finding time to finish a quilt in that magical 3-hours window of midnight to 3 a.m. There's something just so magical about ripping stitches in the moonlight.
As a mom, whether you have one or 10 kids, you learn to treasure those free moments of crafting almost as much as those peanut butter and jelly kisses.
This year my on started school for the first time and I am learning that getting to carpool a little early not only allows me to pick up my son before the older kids carrying large instruments and big backpacks are released and start to slow down the line, but I have a little bit of free time to work on one (or more) projects that I always have in my bag. That bag may look professional with Media Kits and magazine samples, but along side those lay a bag of sewn Quiltsmart projects that need to be cut and flipped, a needlepoint project that just might be finished for Halloween 2015 or bells that need to be strung on ribbon for a Christmas ornament.
So, I have become that mom in the long carpool line, dancing to cranked up country music with a variety of crafting supplies spread out on the passenger seat while she make Christmas ornaments, teachers' gifts, or cross stitching a kitchen towel or baby gift for a new baby. I'm that mom that has somehow spilled a bag of beads or managed to get glitter all over the steering wheel because she was dancing AND crafting while waiting for the littlest love of her life to come bounding out of school with stories of his latest adventures.
If I see you in the car in front of me trying desperately to untangle a skein of yarn or chasing a loose spool of ribbon across the car, I'll be sure to offer a knowing smile and nod because let's face it, this may be the quietest crafting time you have the the rest of the day!
Until our next cup of tea ...
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