They Were With Me

Since moving here I've written 1000 blog posts in my head. Today, I decided was the day,  I logged in and dusted off the ol' blog and found this half written draft from last summer that I never published. I loved it because it had moments that I never want to forget so I finished it to post. Here you go, it's been over a year and I'm finally posting….a post that I wrote over a year ago, ha. Baby steps.

I am a stay-at-home mom. I realize there is a big debate about what is "right" staying home vs working. I don't really buy into that whole debate, I think what is right for us may not necessarily be what is right for the next person. But me, I'm a stay-at-home mom and it's what I have wanted from the beginning. Not the beginning of motherhood but the beginning of well, as long as I remember.

My husband has this incredible drive. Actually, it's one of the (many) things that attracted me to him. He has this incredible passion for business and professional growth. He's also crazy good at what he does.

Me, I have NEVER been career oriented but I have always had a passion for what I do and I'm pretty darn good at it too. It's important to me that my house runs well: clean, organized with good food and well rounded kids. But this summer there was more.

My first package headed to Nancy's Haute Affairs

This summer they were with me and witnessed some cool things. This summer I approached a local store with some of my creations. It wasn't exactly planned. I was in a small shop that had a style that I liked and I felt my product would mesh well with. I had ONE of my keychains with me…the one on my own keys, it needed washed but whatever. I also had THREE of my kids (Chicklets?) in tow. I approached the owner, gave an unprepared spiel and showed her my dirty keychain. So business like, right? How could she resist? Regardless, she wanted to see more. The next week I brought a whole slew of my stuff and of course my three Chicklets and what happened next changed the way they saw me. She gushed. She gushed to me and that was nice. But she gushed to my kids about my talent and my amazing eye and my skill…she pointed stuff out to them and they listened eagerly. Then they sat in my office and worked on their own stuff and they watched me work while I began to fill order after order.

Paper Chick keychains at Nancy's Haute Affairs in Pensacola

When I wasn't creating Paper Chick stuff I started to play a little with mixed media. One day, while we were playing outside with our neighborhood friends I brought some out to show my girlfriends and they gushed (of course they did because they were some of the coolest, sweetest women that I've ever met). A month later one of them asked to buy one of my pieces, she then proceeded to have it framed professionally and display it in her house. Before she hung it on the nail she brought it to our door and said to my kids, "Look what your mom made, isn't it amazing? I love it…."

Yes, I'm a dork. I took a picture. It meant that much to me that she would brag to my kids.

They started to brag to people that their mom was an artist. They're braggers but it's usually over Brian, they tell people he's famous because he was Oklahoma's Most Admired CEO. Note, they now tell people that he's president of Canada, ha! But now they were bragging about me this time and it wasn't about me being the best cookie baker (break and bake cookies, it's so sad).

In her Kindergarten class my daughter discussed occupations and community helpers this year. Many of the students offered up what their parents did and apparently Kate raised her hand and informed her class that her mom was a maker. I like that, I'll take it.

I'm still a stay-at-home mom. I sell Paper Chick stuff to two stores sporadically. I never really focused on the etsy store because as soon as I would make something it would sell locally so I was never able to fill the shop. I'll do it again…maybe this winter while I suffer craft my way through our first Canadian winter. I wouldn't change a thing, I stay at home with them, I do it well. But now they know I'm more than a mom. I create things that people like and appreciate, they've seen me walk in a store, unselfconsciously and pitch my stuff off the cuff. They've watched me work, I worked hard, they've fallen asleep to the sound of my sewing machine countless nights.

What's most important to me is that they know I'm here when they get home, they know I clean this house and I cook their meals. I bandage their scrapes and wash their dirty feet in the bathtub. But now they know… I'm also a maker.

Order #1 ready for delivery to local shop

Order #2 ready for delivery to local shop