Those who make me smile.....

Today was one of those days when I can't tell if I'm sad because things are changing... or because I'm feeling a little overworked....or because I haven't seen friends in a while.....or if I'm just totally hormonal.  I was dealing with all of these today and I'm sure they all worked very well together to create the perfect storm.

I LOVE to be alone so I can paint, read, blog....whatever.  But after a few days, I start to get very down and that is when I have to grab that cup of coffee, sit on the screened in porch and reevaluate my week.  Hmmm......perhaps being a hermit is not necessarilly a positive thing.  I need to see friends.  I need to be around positive people who care about me.  Even if they are not so positive at the moment.  I need to get out of my own head and see some real, live people!

Oh....that's another thing.  I have this lovely, safe place inside my head I call 'the box'.  It's where I go when I'm overwhelmed, sad, attacked, angry, moody, senstive, irrational.......so as you can guess, I pretty much live there.  Safe?  Only in a matter of speaking.  I seem to forget the rest of the world exists when I retreat to the box for protection.  Only....the world inside the box doesn't really exist.  It's imaginery.  A 'safe' place for me to feel happy, welcome, talented, sought after, needed, adored......but it's not real.  And it's easy to get lost in a place where everything is happy and I'm the star of the show.  But in the end....it's hard to leave the box.  And I get stuck.  And I start to forget my friends, my husband, my kids......everything that is important to me.  My relationships suffer.  The gallery suffers.  I suffer.  But that box.....it's so safe, right?

This morning I forced myself out of the box.  I put off working out (for shame, right?), packed up a punch of jewelry supplies and headed to the gallery to work and socialize with my sweet friend Angela Statzer who was behind the desk.  It was a great idea.  I was feeling crappy and Angela's smile and enthusiasm brightened my day.  It was so nice to have coffee, make some earrings and just gab.  It's exactly what I needed.

Then, the girls and I spent the afternoon making jewelry out of pop cans.  I made it and they modeled.  Another fun break in the day.  They were wonderful.

But, tonight I dreaded going to church to practice singing for Sunday's service.  It's my last time singing at Lake Forest since I'm on the launch team to start the new church.  I was back to being down and I also couldn't get a sitter so the girls were tagging along with me.  You never know how that's going to go!  I got there and everyone was very welcoming of the kids.  Already made me feel better.  Then I got to hang out with 2 wonderful ladies, Reeve and Liz.  

Singing buddies!



Me and Liz, my super pick me up friend.



This is super blurry, but Molly made a bed for her and bunny white right on stage.

Me singing.  Taken with Reeves phone!

 Liz is one of those friends who will just randomly text me great little pick me ups out of nowhere.  She's the best.   Just hanging with these 2 ladies gave me another needed boost.

  And at the end of the night, Lilly got the treat of her life when Kyle let her sing one of his songs on the mike with the full band behind her.  Molly did a lovely interpretive dance during the guitar solo.  You never saw 2 happier little girls.  Made my night.

So....the point of this very LONG blog post is.....

The box is bad. 

Friends are good. 

Life is beautiful.

Good night.