It’s nights like last night that can really lift a girl up! Here’s the back story…
As most of you know, we’ve been in the midst of a move at home and I’m feeling like my life is in total chaos. What you might not know, is that I like order…like…a lot of order…and I have very little order right now. It’s driving me batty. Between trying to unpack, running kids here, running kids there, signing closing papers, cleaning the old house, blah, blah, blah, I’ve been having a hard time keeping my schedule in check.
To add to the chaos, our first Hen Party was last night (we made adorable Bunting Pillows – more on that in a minute) and I realized a week ago the date was also shared with downtown’s Girls’ Night Out event. By the way – I happened to be on the planning committee for Girls’ Night Out so you would think the date would have been on my radar when I scheduled the Hen Party series. Really, you give me waaaaaay too much credit!
Since I’ve been focused on the house, I had planned to utilize yesterday morning to gather supplies for the Hen Party and finish any last minute details for Girls Night Out, and still make it in time to stop by the realty office to sign papers for the closing on our “old” house, get lunch for the little, get said little to school and make it to the shop to open at Noon…I’ve got this. And then Wednesday afternoon happened… A call from a Public Relations professor at the University of Northern Iowa…”Yes, this is Dr. {X} and I was just calling to make sure we’re still on for tomorrow (Thursday) morning – for you to speak to my class.” My head says, “$@#$!!!” which verbally translated to, “Yes! Absolutely, I’ll be there! Remind me of the time? 9:30? Perfect…I’ll be there.”
Long story short…I ended up 10 minutes late to the closing appointment, 5 minutes late opening the shop because I couldn’t find my sewing machine (which I needed for the Hen Party), and put in a panic call to Grandma Pam to help with the school drop-offs/pick-ups, lunch, gathering food/supplies for the Hen Party and digging through boxes at home to find my sewing machine. Thank GOD for my mama. Seriously.
In the middle of all of this I’m thinking…”Is this really worth it? Why am I doing this? This is why I decided not to work for the past 7 years…so our lives wouldn’t be so chaotic. Maybe I made a mistake by opening the shop. Maybe I should just throw in the towel.” The self-talk was killer, people!
And then the Hen Party happened…a good friend, her daughter and her daughter’s best friend were attending and I was looking forward to spending time with them! In addition to the trio I’ve known for years, there was another woman attending with her daughter whom I had never met. The minute this mother/daughter team walked in the door I knew I was going to love them! They were attending the Hen Party, but still brought donations for the Girls’ Night Out event. We immediately began giggling and joking about how “scared” they were of the sewing machines that were setup in the craft space, and when I offered them a beverage they asked me if I was having some too. This was going to be fun!
We spent the next three hours together eating, laughing, sharing stories, making mistakes and fixing mistakes. I taught them how to sew a basic pillow and they taught me terms like “ugly side of the fabric.” The look on their faces when they realized they could sew a straight line, and the elation when they held their finished pillow, knowing they created it…THAT! THAT, my friends, is exactly why I am doing this.
The planning leading up to the workshop wasn’t perfect. In fact, if those public relations students I spoke to earlier in the day planned an event the way I planned this first Hen Party…they would get a big fat F. But here’s the deal folks…life doesn’t have to be perfect. Even when our house is full of boxes, or our children go to school with dirty faces, or our lines aren’t perfectly straight, we can still create something beautiful. At then end of the night I was getting hugs from people I had just met, and received one of the best compliments – “Truly, a wonderful evening. Thank you so much. You have inspired me.”
Inspiration – that, folks, is exactly what this little shop and craft space are all about. I don’t do this to get rich. I don’t do it for the glory. And, I certainly don’t do it because it makes life easier. I do it because, hopefully, I am building confidence and inspiring people to create something that will make life a little more beautiful. Not perfect. Just beautiful.
