Love Your Blog: Gratitude

The theme of this week's Love Your Blog link-up hosted by Kate at A Playful Day is Gratitude.

I'm grateful for finding my creative side. I was useless at sports, drama at art at school, but very academic, and followed that side for many years. I thought that since I couldn't draw or choose colours or clothes I was not creative, only bookish. This idea of my limitations lasted well into my twenties. I started knitting when I was stuck at home with hyperemesis gravidarum when I was expecting Sausages, and I haven't looked back!

Knitting carried me through those tough days, and tougher ones that were to come. One stitch at a time. When I took a step back from my career it led me to the world of blogging, and to starting this blog, for which I am so grateful! Knitting is my therapy, and my primary craft, but this creative journey has also led me to crochet, felting, sewing, dyeing, and many other crafts. When I was suddenly and unexpectedly a stay-at-home mother blogging, and other activities, made me feel like I was still a person with purpose and value. I know that being a mother is a full time job, but society doesn't, and it's good to have something else to mention when people ask what you do. This blog prompts me to see my life from an external perspective, which helps me to see the really good bits without being overwhelmed by the difficult bits. It also gives me an opportunity to write, which I have missed since I left academia, where I wrote every day.

My creative pursuits have brought me many new friends, who have taught me so much - some of it even craft-related! Sharing a creative interest is a wonderful basis for friendship, and I have only met one person who wasn't eager to share their knowledge and experience with those around them. Craft groups are great places to meet people with similar outlooks on life. People who are interested in making and the hand made already have a lot in common. Many craft groups are made up only of women, and I have met some wonderful women through such groups, so that my mothering journey has overlapped with my creative journey. This has enriched my mothering so much, and my boys have really benefited. Crafting also gives me an outlet for my stress and tension, making for a calmer family environment.

My crafty hobbies have helped me to live the lifestyle I want for my family too. I can buy a ball of yarn and create a one-of-a-kind gift for a friend or relative, that I wouldn't be able to afford to buy. I can make warm clothes for my family and wrap them in my love. I can turn my hand to crafts that allow me to make my home look the way I want without spending a lot of money. I can buy inexpensive food and turn it into interesting and nutritious meals for my family. I am so grateful for this. Husband and I are trying to live the challenge of living the life we want to live and being the people we want to be, and not to be overwhelmed by the challenges and limitations we face.

I'd love to hear what a creative life has brought others, please do tell me. I feel so lucky, I hope you do too!