I am behind on my homework. I have a very good reason. Monday is usually my first serious homework day, and I try to turn everything in on Tuesday. All my weekly assignments are due on Wednesdays, so I have a buffer there for anything I didn't finish on Tuesday. This week, when I got home from pilates on Monday night, I discovered our house had been broken in to. They took some electronics, left my computer (which I do ALL my homework on, since I'm in an online, distance learning Master's degree program), left my husband's laptop, left most of my jewelry (got some of it) and left ALL of my crafting supplies and created items. But they did get my digital camera. I have this bizaare blend of exceedingly grateful (that so many things were NOT taken, that we weren't home, that our cats are ok and didn't run off with the house open for hours, that we have great homeowner's insurance) and furious/violated (for what was taken, for the broken window, for the unpleasant shift that created in our household energy) and just utterly mystified (by what wasn't taken - TV and Xbox taken, blu ray player and blu ray/dvd discs left; Jewelry on display and on top of my dresser left, jewelry in my drawer taken; digital camera taken, ipod speakers left). As the days pass, gratitude is becoming the dominant emotion: it could have been so much worse, my family is ok, most of what was stolen is just things that can be replaced or done without.
So, even though I have a number of new items created that I would just love to get listed on Etsy and Artfire, I'm stuck for the moment, not being able to photograph them. And, because of waiting for the police and getting things cleaned up and trying to inventory what's missing, I didn't get any homework done at all this week. Today I am just sitting down to the assignments that were due Wednesday. And here I am blogging instead! I've been reminded once again that my need to create runs deep. Crochet is meditative, soothing, even at times a form of prayer for me. The joy my creative process brings when I'm laying out a new necklace around a special pendant, challenging myself to create a new style of earrings, is a very specific kind of joy that I've discovered I need. It's totally different from the joy of snuggling my cats, or seeing the love in my husband's eyes, or laughing with good friends and family. But it is still something I need. So I find myself wanting to be crafty, to create, to crochet as a means to set myself back to rights after a crazy and long week.
A dear friend of mine is a talented photographer and has offered her assistance with photographing my items. Part of me didn't really register the offer in the past because I have an "I can do it myself" streak a MILE wide and because I've only seen her portrait and candid photo work (I have no idea what her macro photography skills are like, but she most certainly knows her way around a camera). I think, if I can get my homework done and get caught up before Wednesday of the coming week, I will take her up on her offer and try to get some of my many new items photographed. And the balance of crafting versus homework will continue. :)
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