By Sally Saint
Yesterday I participated in a local Art Festival, along with many other local creatives. Having to be at the event early is something that has now become a family tradition – every time I need to be somewhere my son has a lie in! How he manages it I will never know; on every single day of the calendar he is up bright and early, except the days I need to be somewhere.
So I got up and did as much as I could, and eventually with the level of noise gradually increasing, he awoke and joined the fun. Breakfast, clothes, teeth done, enough snacks to feed an army, massive books to look through. The last one I loved having also the boot of my car full of my artwork! We were then ready for the drive to the event.
Gone are the days when the totally organised woman with hours to spare, looking fresh and perfectly turned out, entered the arena of life. Would I change it for the world? No I wouldn’t.
We walked into the hall with all the other artists preparing their tables. You could see the stress on many faces, the pressure, the rush to get everything set up and “just so”. I walked slowly with my son, as he wanted to help, so he was carrying my art that is framed – yes, glass! We walked slowly, very slowly. As I walked, I viewed the mayhem around me and I thanked God for the child walking beside me who slowed me down.
For before my son’s arrival, I was each and every face I looked into: rushing, striving, wanting to get everything perfect, and it never happens. Perfect is an illusion, something that for all the adjusting and readjusting, is just a societal program not a truth.
My son stayed with me the day and it was a day of many breaks and walks around. I also didn’t sell anything, and maybe that was part of the lesson for him and me. You go in faith, you trust your self, your abilities, but you never allow circumstances to affect any of those qualities.
As the day wore on I looked across at a woman and thought “I know that face”, so I went over, and as we spoke it became clear. When my son was a baby, a local community centre held a fun day. At this event was an art teacher creating a massive dragon. I walked in with my baby, who was asleep, and I came alive. I painted, I got involved and my energy just expanded.
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