Wednesday, March 03, 2010

A Juggling Act

I suppose many of us feel this way, but right now I feel like my life is a juggling act and I am coming perilously close to dropping some of my balls. Or maybe they are chainsaws and that is why I feel so anxious! I am finding it harder every day to balance taking care of my family, the house, working at the quilt shop, doing alterations, overseeing the local quilt guild and an online quilt group, and trying to fit in time to exercise and take care of myself. Notice that leaves me a big fat 0 for quilting or blogging about quilting. In fact sometimes I feel so paralyzed by all the things that I need to do that I find myself zoning out and doing nothing at all. Which doesn't help.

I suppose I need to sit down and make a priority list. But that's too depressing, and who wants to look at a long list of things they really should be doing and know can't get done in a day. This week I have put myself at the top of my unwritten list. I am going to go for a walk everyday. I am going to shave my legs and trim my nails. I am going to make an appointment to get my hair trimmed. And I am going to do some quilting. Some just for the fun of it, because I want to quilting. Even if it is only for an hour a day I need to work on a project that I an enthusiastic about and enjoy. Then I think I will have the energy to tackle the rest.

I remember when I first started on my quilting journey. I was a young mom with 3 little girls under 5 years of age and a fourth on the way. I always enjoyed sewing, but when I discovered the world of quilting it was love at first stitch. The reason I loved it? It was the one thing that I could do every day that would stay done! If I spent an hour stitching patches together, they were still sewn the next day - the patches I cut (with a template and scissors!) were still cut. And the colors and fabrics were so much fun to play with, it challenged my brain and my artistic abilities.

Quilting has always been soothing for me, the concentration involved takes you away from your worries, and the results are so pleasing. So onwards I go, tackling each day as it comes, and each project. Even though life is stressful now, it will pass, and my lovely quilts will help me remember these days with a smile just like my early quilts do.

2 comments:

FabricFascination said...

What a wonderful article Pam. I have certainly felt the same way at times. It is a struggle to stay in balance. Take care of yourself ♥

sewfunquilts said...

YES! YES!! YES!!! Congrats. on discovering this and doing something about it. Love the way you described it, as most of us can relate to it.

If I don't get some sewing/quilting into my days I'm not complete and find myself unhappy.