Only two more weeks until the children go back to school! I sometimes feel a little like a "bad mother" when I admit to other people that I can't wait for September 4th, and that I do a happy dance on the first day of school. Well, I must admit that over the years, I have also had some teary moments on that first day of school. But I know that it is because I try to be a good mother and am so involved with my kids, that I find the summer to be exhausting. In my own defense I should also mention that I was "older" when we were finally blessed with our children, so I am no spring chicken! And all the activities, having the friends of the children here, family visiting, travelling, and camping are getting harder every year! I'm thinking that a long vacation at a nice resort (by myself) is what I might enjoy these days!
I have primarily worked on 3 projects over the summer, which are all mostly hand work. The first is the 365 journal quilt and I will have completed 4 months of my quilt by the end of August. The second project is A Quilter's Journey by Leanne Beasley. In addition to the piecing and the stitchery of these blocks, I have kept a journal of my memories about my quilting journey accompanying each of these blocks. It has been a wonderful time of reflecting about my journey, the people and the quilting events of the past 16 years. But the progress on both of these is slow and I don't have any new photos to show you of recent work on these two projects.
However, my third project has been the Bead Journal Project which is a commitment to make a beaded journal piece each month for a year. I have enjoyed this so much that I started a separate blog to detail each month's work. If you are interested in beading, you can read all about my work/play on my Bead Journal Blog. It has really helped me to learn about my creative process and about what I enjoy doing the most. And all the recent photos of my work are on my beading blog.
So I have had lots of time for my creative projects over the summer. Almost all of my work has been done while watching my kids swim, practise/play soccer and baseball, and play with their friends. I could have a lot more done if I could figure out how to sew/bead while I drive!! I must have driven around the earth twice over the summer - but not to anywhere quilting related!!
But now, I am looking forward to working in peace and quiet, without the interruptions of applying bandages, making snacks and more snacks, and mediating fights! And being able to meet my friends for lunch and go to quilt stores and see my quilting friends again!
Oh Kathy, you are not a bad mother for feeling that way. I feel the same. I love having my kids home from college for the summer (2 away & 1 in High School) & I was even lucky enough to have my husband home as well (he works during the year in Hong Kong) but I am so thrilled to have the house to myself again. I can finally get something done while I know that my kids and husband are refreshed from their much needed summer holiday. I look at it this way - there will be no empty nest syndrome around here come next August when my youngest goes to college.
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