I mentioned earlier that my kids weren’t initially happy with my newly-awakened sewing compulsion. For over a decade I made them my primary focus. I conditioned them to expect me to be there for them at all times. However, when I started spending a lot of time sewing and creating earlier in the school year, things changed. In order to free some time for my art-making, I now need to limit the time I spend on other tasks. That definitely affects the kids’ lives. Over the last few months we had to negotiate quite a bit. Everyone in the family had to make a lot of adjustments. Even now, when the school year is nearing its end, this is still very much a work in progress.
Every now and then, however, there are little moments that show me the kids are accepting my renewed connection to art. The other day, for example, I experienced one such heart-warming moment. My son, a first-grader, came home from school very excited. “You won’t believe this, mom,” he said. “I have this boy in my class, poor fellow. His mom can’t even sew!”.
(I just love this beautiful collaborative piece my son made with other classmates).