ell, life is full of surprises and curve balls and a couple of direct lobs to the head. Since the last blog I suddenly became very sick again with a weird form of pneumonia and was in the hospital for 9 days. I just came home tethered to an oxygen tank and have to stay in bed for several more weeks recovering. I won’t bore you with the details, just that they think they have discovered what is causing this and I will completely recover and never be sick again a day in my life. OK, I made that last part up, but I plan to live a healthy and virtuous life from here on out and do everything I’m told so it won’t happen again.
As I’m sure many of you know, when you’re sick like that, you have lots of time to think deep thoughts and try and decide how you want to spend the rest of your life. What’s really important, what really matters, etc. I’ve already been through the worst life has to offer with the death of my son, and I already know the most important things in life are, quite simply, family, friends, and love–period– but there’s always room for more reflection. I think I’ve been trying to do too much lately; trying to be all things to all people. When you run your own business, you sometimes feel like you just can’t say no to any opportunity. I’ve often said that’s how I got my business started, and its true– I grabbed every opportunity as it came along, whether or not I even fully understood what I was getting into, and it certainly worked for me. And although it’s hard for someone like me to give up ALL her aspirations of World Domination, ala Martha Stewart– I just don’t think I need to try to do everything anymore.
One of the things that I’ve decided I can’t do this year is the Home Companion Workshop. It was so much fun, but there are now so many of these events and the economy is still not great. It’s a stress and an organizational nightmare I just can’t handle this year. Barbara and I are still talking about doing maybe three or four seasonal 1-day craft seminars at the studio– we’ll let you know if that works out. Does that sound interesting to any of you? Obviously it would be a much smaller, more intimate deal, but it could be a lot of fun. Otherwise, I’d be more interested at this time in my life to participate in already existing events and leave the logistics to someone else!
Also, there are so many great new e-zines out there now– Amy Powers’ Inspired Ideas, Sweet Paul, Matthew Mead’s new bookazine (I’m in his new Holiday issue, available through his website)– and of course, we’ve thought of again putting out The Home Companion that way, but there are so many new people coming along and putting out great new ideas on the Internet. I think it’s time to say Home Companion had its’ moment in the sun and now it’s time to let the new kids show their stuff. I’ve decided to stick with what I do best– draw, draw, draw, and then license the heck out of those drawings and try to create things that make people happy.
I think if I hadn’t become sick I never would have come to this decision. It would have seemed to me like I was letting people down or not “being all I could be”, but now I have a fresh perspective on things. We’re none of us getting any younger, bucket lists have to be revised, and as Robert Frost said “Everything I know of the world can be summed up in three words: life goes on.”
And P.S. let’s hear it for the guy who invented the portable oxygen tank! Thanks buddy!
~Mary
