I wanted to touch base and give you a quick update on what's been going on with me. I hope you've been wondering why you haven't heard from me in so long. I actually didn't realize exactly HOW long it had really been. When I logged in today and saw that the last time I posted was July 27th I was shocked. I knew my life-balance had been out of whack, but hadn’t realized for how long. One thing I’ve learned is that every so often, I need to re-evaluate my life. Well that's pretty much where I've been this last month.
As most of you know my teenage daughter had an exceptionally difficult 2+ years in high school. Changing schools in mid-January 2009 was the best thing we’d ever done. The last semester of her junior year was a total re-balance. This year, her senior year, she is in her groove. She has a GPA of 3.87, loves going to school, and is successfully balancing school, a social life and a part-time job. She not only survived the horrible years at her old school, but came through them growing into an amazing young woman who knows who she is and is comfortable in her own skin. I couldn’t be more proud of her – and that’s not just a mother talking!
Just as things were leveling out, in the first few days of August I gained another teenager. My 17 year old nephew, who had been denied access to this side of the family for 7 years, suddenly appeared. He had nowhere to go and I just couldn’t send him off to the State or to a homeless shelter, so I took on the responsibility of a teenager I barely know and we found room in our 1,000 sq ft condo for all 6’5” of him. Somehow, even with 3 adults, 2 dogs, and a cat we didn’t feel claustrophobic. As it turns out and not a surprise, my nephew’s past years were challenging, so living with structure and accountability were more than he could handle. Two weeks ago he chose to leave my home. My heart aches for him knowing the challenges that are facing him and the lack of tools he is equipped with to deal with them – but I’ve learned that I can’t save everyone and I can’t do everything.
As life goes on, I need to pick and choose what I am going to focus on. I need to prioritize and then work through my priority list. As I'm sure you all know from your own lives, sometimes certain things take precedence and you have to let other things slide for awhile. That's essentially what happened with my Stampin’ Up! business. Although it’s important to me, it wasn’t essential.
Over the past two weeks I’ve taken the time to re-evaluate many areas of my life, looking at all options as objectively as possible, including my demonstratorship for Stampin’ Up! How does being a demonstrator fit into my life? In answering this question I had to acknowledge that this year will be busy, especially with my daughter getting ready for college (she’s looking in Oregon 3,000 miles away). But the one thing I thoroughly enjoy, the one thing I do that is just for me, is stamping. It has been my therapy over the past 3 years, my quiet place in the storm – I don’t know what I would have done without it.
So, not only am I going to continue as a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator, I’m going to ramp it up with opportunities for fun like Clubs, Stamp-a-Stacks, Technique Classes, Private Classes, and more Open Stamp Events. My posts here will be more frequent and the calendar on my Stampin’ Up!
website will be updated regularly. My hope is that you’ll join me in my rediscovery of the Stampin’ Up! Statement of the Heart: "To love what we do and share what we love as we help others enjoy creativity and worthwhile accomplishments... in this we make a difference!"
You can just see the glimmer of the the silver pigment ink under the blue ornament. Unfortunately you can't see the incredible texture on the white layer added by a pass through the Big Shot with the Textured Impressions Petals-A-Plenty (#116824).
