2021 – Let’s Chat

Hello,

My name is Erin and I’m a wife, mom (of three), creative person, “jack-of-all-trades master of none”, OH WAIT! I’ve already done introductions…probably three times! I guess that tells you how long it’s been since I’ve posted on here. While this blog is a great space to think out loud, share things I’m learning along the way and mentally regroup, it’s like a best friend that lives hours away. The one you think about all the time, but because of life and the daily grind, you rarely ever get a chance to talk. And yet, when you do, you can pick up right where you left off!

It goes without saying…we’re in the middle of a pandemic, and like most of you, we haven’t gotten to see family in a LONG time. While we live only an hour away from my nieces, we hadn’t seen them in over a year. Finally, with more family able to get the vaccine, we had a tiny gathering before my other brother and his beautiful bride move to Alaska (most of the family didn’t get to be at the wedding :-() And as I sat talking with my brother the topic of my parent’s annual Christmas letter came up. With two girls of his own, we mentioned that our lives don’t look like much on paper right now. No major accomplishments to speak of, pictures with all of us are hard to come by these days, but in reality, our lives are busier than they have ever been before.

The kids keep us in constant motion, all day, and most nights. While we are making the most of each holiday, birthday, weekend and weeknight dinner, I can feel time escaping me and I know that I will want this time back so bad someday, but for the life of me, I can’t hold it in my memory for more than an hour at a time. The feeling of being pulled in a thousand directions at all times is one of the few constants in my life right now. The idea that this precious time is fleeting is a very prominent feeling for me right now.

With that being said, there are so many things to be grateful for during this “weird” time in the world. Time spent together is at the top of the list. Our oldest who didn’t go to optional preschool this year, will be starting full day kindergarten next year. I am constantly reminding myself that this is the LAST time we will ever be home all day together every day (with the exception of summer breaks). Once school starts, we will lose some of our freedom to be spontaneous, those all-day PJ days and the ability to pack up for a couple days at a time to go visit family.

Another incredible thing that happened during the past year of social isolation was that I FINALLY invested in a digital creative outlet A.K.A. an iPad! I got my first iPad at 30-something years old…only a little behind. When I graduated from college almost 7 years ago (there was a 5 year hiatus between junior year fall and spring semesters – a story for another day) my fiancé, now husband, gifted me an iPad with the intention that I would pick one out. That next week, we got married, the week after, we bought a farm, two months later went on a honeymoon, adopted two dogs and embarked on a big move while trying to sell our house. All in a 6 month time period. Phew! Needless to say I never picked out that iPad. Three kids later, I finally made a decision on the iPad Air and I am hooked! The digital fabric/pattern/surface designs that have been floating around in my brain for years are finally pouring out onto my screen. A little help from my Apple Pencil, Adobe Fresco, Photoshop and Illustrator apps, and my sweet husband (tech support) and I have a dream creative outlet! As cheesy as it may sound, it has given me a creative purpose.

Not sure why I waited so long (price was probably 90% of it ;-)) but I actually invested in myself! For me that is a huge step. If anyone out there is dragging their feet on a purchase like this, I want to say, DO IT! INVEST IN YOURSELF, BECAUSE YOU ARE WORTH IT!! Hopefully I can start posting some of my artwork on a regular basis, but for now, I’ll leave you with a couple practice patterns I’ve been testing out.

Have a great day!

Xoxo, Erin

Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored by anyone and all opinions/recommendations are my own.