I am really enjoying Amanda Blake Soule's book, The Creative Family: How to Encourage Imagination and Nurture Family Connections. Like most things in my life, I was interested in it for the children. Like most things in my life, it seems that I'm getting just as much out of it as the kids.
After a Franciscan retreat this weekend where I worked on establishing my own personal rule of life, simplicity and contentment are now haunting me. With two children under the age of 6, a husband in graduate school full time, and me staying home with the children... we have loads of stress around here. I've thought about taking up knitting, but that was such a failed disaster at the age of 9 with my grandmother, that I'm just not sure about trying that again. So, I was looking through the book yesterday and found a section on embroidery with your children. Besides sharing how to embroider with preschoolers, Amanda Blake Soule shares how she embroiders pictures her children have drawn. Suddenly, somewhere in the deep recesses of my non-domesticated mind came faint thoughts of french knots, split stitches and wooden hoops. Oh, my gosh! I used to do this handicraft when I was a child. My saintly mother and grandmother had actually gotten something through to me!
Never one to dilly-dally, I ran out and bought supplies today. After all, this isn't some sort of cutesy craft we're talking about. It is the key to my sanity... or so I hope. I'm working on a "picture" of Jack's hands at the moment, and I have to say it was very meditative. I'm so relaxed right now, I'm just about to fall asleep on my keyboard. Here's a pic:
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