Have you ever been through a time in your life when you wonder if the dreams once planted in your heart would blossom? Or if they would simply be choked out by the cares of this world?
It's a New Day for me and I am thankful...
The past two weeks have been busy. You see, I am a girl who can manage two things on her plate and do them well. Give me more and the platter tips and... oops... it spills. So the two things I've been managing over the past two weeks have been canning (my "this is it!" activity) and getting ready for my daughter's fifth birthday party. Um, "two things" on top of keeping house (sort of!), lunches for preschooler and daddy, laundry washed, meals on the table (sort of!), etc... So throughout these two weeks I've wondered if my platter would remain steady - or spill.
Now the birthday party - a small one consisting of nine people which included four, no five, adults - is enough to cause stress in itself. Successfully pulled off, kept low key for maximum enjoyment: hula hoop contest, hot potato, free play and of course the 'main events'.
How does the canning fit into this? Yesterday we had Neighborhood Day to Play at our church which consisted of a Christian concert, children's games, silent auction, chicken barbeque, bounce house (just imagine how my kids bounced all day!), prayer tent and vendors. And who was one of the vendord? Moi! Yes - me, yours truly. I prepared batches of my Salsa with Cilantro, Sweet Red Pepper Jelly and our family favorite: Cucumber Jelly. I prayed over each of my jars (Lord, please let them all be safe and not make anyone sick!) and agonized over the labels until finally coming up with ones I really liked and a trick to make them. I rose early in the morning to shower (oh yes, did I forget to mention our pastor's 10 year old son was also staying with us which meant an extra mouth to feed - hungry boy, we ate well! and my little ones up quite early so we can get the PK who goes to school much earlier than my daughter there on time). Now where was I? Oh yes - up early in the morning to shower, work hard all day to prepare my batches of canned goods, try not to forget about my son, try to keep the house in order, yada yada, then dropping into bed way too late at night...
My thougths are scattered this morning. I wonder if I can even read this smoothly? Heh heh.
Finally, Friday and Saturday arrive. As I said, the birthday party was a success, but once the kids were in bed and I dropped on the couch exhausted and pleased I realized I was not feeling well and by bedtime I had the chills. Oh no! In the morning I felt just as horrible, but had make it through. My husband brought me toast and ibuprofen in bed and let me rest (thank you!). I showered and fed the kids, pulled together all I'd need for my vending table (forgetting a few items) and headed off to the church.
It was a beautiful day. A bit too windy, but pleasant nonetheless. And so there I was - being a vendor for the very first time. I discovered how much I enjoyed it! Oh the thrill of the first sale! And the the second, third and fourth... I returned home at the end of the day with only six jars left. Of course, I gave a bunch of them away but then if one is thinking of getting into vending at craft events as well as offering people to homecan a batch on demand you pretty much need to give some away at first! I am wondering if I will be getting at least one phone call to prepare a batch of something for someone. How delightful that will be!
So that's it. Sometimes dreams need time to grow beneath the soil before that tiny little shoot of green can show itself above ground. Don't give up!
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