You either get it or you don't
When it comes to crafts and the time we spend on them, you either get it or you don't. If you get it, then when I tell you that my daughter and I drove from Seattle to Portland to attend a bead show, you nod, "well, of course you did" or perhaps "WHAT! I missed a bead show?". If you ask "how much did the gas cost?" or "what else did you do while you were there?", clearly you don't get it. Sometimes the most surprising people get it. A guy who thinks nothing of spending most of Sunday afternoon at Home Depot, followed by the rest of the afternoon organizing his nuts and bolts, gets it. He is the same guy who rummaged through the recycle bin to retrieve glass baby jars so he could nail the lids to a piece of wood, fill the jars with screws and admire how the combination of shiny glass and shiny metal in neat little rows reflects the light from the overhead bulb. Now that those little glass jars no longer abound in our grocery stores, I can just imagine his pain. But he gets it.
My family learned years ago that me announcing I was going to the bead store, was me announcing "don't call, don't text, don't ask me if I am on my way home...I am not. I will be home when I am home". They get it.
My mom doesn't. She thinks she does. She wants to. She tries to. But she just doesn't. Taking her with me to a craft store starts out well. After all, craft stores are bright with possibilities...flowers, banners, beads, paints, toys, picture frames, candles! After collecting a cart she is sure she will quickly fill (are these little carts big enough?), she is immediately drawn to the $1 bins. Notepads, stickers, pens, magnetic shopping lists...all are carefully sorted thru and a few items make their thoughtful way into the cart. On to the holiday decorations where she picks up several items, then discards them as being too pricey, too big, too small, too something. On to the frames...nope, doesn't need any frames. On and on it goes until she returns to the front of the store, where I am still on the first group of beads, and exclaims over the colors and varieties. Would I make her some earrings with these beads? Of course...they are added to the cart. What about these little crystal beads, would they make a nice bracelet? Of course! They also make the cut. Annnnnd that's it for her. The rest of the time in the store she spends wandering aimlessly up and down aisles, looking at nothing in particular, returning finally to the jewelry supplies where I am still searching for a 6mm lavender bead that will perfectly complement the larger purple beads I found hanging on the last chance sale rack. After shifting from foot to foot for a moment she asks "can I help you find something?" Yes, patience and understanding. After all, she is my mom and I love her, but she just doesn't get it.
My family learned years ago that me announcing I was going to the bead store, was me announcing "don't call, don't text, don't ask me if I am on my way home...I am not. I will be home when I am home". They get it.
My mom doesn't. She thinks she does. She wants to. She tries to. But she just doesn't. Taking her with me to a craft store starts out well. After all, craft stores are bright with possibilities...flowers, banners, beads, paints, toys, picture frames, candles! After collecting a cart she is sure she will quickly fill (are these little carts big enough?), she is immediately drawn to the $1 bins. Notepads, stickers, pens, magnetic shopping lists...all are carefully sorted thru and a few items make their thoughtful way into the cart. On to the holiday decorations where she picks up several items, then discards them as being too pricey, too big, too small, too something. On to the frames...nope, doesn't need any frames. On and on it goes until she returns to the front of the store, where I am still on the first group of beads, and exclaims over the colors and varieties. Would I make her some earrings with these beads? Of course...they are added to the cart. What about these little crystal beads, would they make a nice bracelet? Of course! They also make the cut. Annnnnd that's it for her. The rest of the time in the store she spends wandering aimlessly up and down aisles, looking at nothing in particular, returning finally to the jewelry supplies where I am still searching for a 6mm lavender bead that will perfectly complement the larger purple beads I found hanging on the last chance sale rack. After shifting from foot to foot for a moment she asks "can I help you find something?" Yes, patience and understanding. After all, she is my mom and I love her, but she just doesn't get it.
