King & I

Memories of Busy Parenting

Today is Wednesday, and that means today’s adventure is working in the campground store while the owner and her daughters have an adventure at dance class. Two age groups, two different classes — lots of adventures.

Oh, how well I remember those busy days with children. Scouting, 4H, t-ball, soccer (and all the associated practices) — not to mention the busyness of after-school activities. How well I remember trying to juggle activities with work and a stupid crazy schedule that often-included night meetings and going back to the newsroom to write — often not getting home until long after bedtime for the children. If I had it to do over again, I wouldn’t have sold my soul to the fourth estate. It’s a truly thankless job, and one the masses — from presidents on down to racist torch-carrying (jolly fellows) like to berate. Even those who, at one point, I considered friends, have been on the giving end of diatribes against my chosen profession. Ahhh, but anger makes me digress. Needless to say, I will always jump in to help out a parent trying to juggle a myriad of activities.

A Break from the Campground

I have the next two days off, and much to my chagrin, I will be hauling out the sewing machine to create some electronics carrying cases to put in our online store.

The Art of Sewing

I rather enjoy the actual art of sewing. It always amazes me how one can take two simple pieces of material and put them together in such a way that they actually serve a purpose. It’s the getting to the sewing part that makes me twitchy.

Space Constraints and Sewing Challenges

When one lives in 268 square feet, it is necessary to have a place for everything and everything has to remain in its place. Not only is space limited, but when we pull our home down the road, we have to be cognizant of the fact that our precious cargo can (and will) shift — drastically. So, my lovely Singer sewing machine (a gift from my children for Mother’s Day many years ago) has to be stowed in an overhead shelf, surrounded by extra bedding as cushioning. To get to my “machine,” first the art glass supplies have to be moved, then the bedding removed, the sewing machine tilted on its side and slid out through an opening that is wider than it is tall. After a little cursing because the sewing machine plug fell behind a box of books, the bedding and glass supplies are put away, and the next cupboard door is opened. My sewing supplies are pulled out and lined up on our couch. The sewing table is kept in another closet, and several pairs of shoes and a scale have to be moved to get the table out. My material is kept in a box in the bed of our pickup. We call the truck bed our attic when we are stationary, but it becomes our garage and stores camping gear when we are on the road. It’s really necessary I get this sewing project/adventure complete before we head out in two weeks because I will have to give up my attic space when we convert the truck bed into our garage. (Yes, names are simply semantics).

The Challenge of Staying Focused

So anyway, unless I can find something to distract me tomorrow, I’m going to be sewing. Distractions are easy. Petra wants to go out. King needs cigars. King is out of pop. The sun is shining on the North Pier in South Haven. I should drive to Glenn to check the mail… Amazon didn’t deliver the batting I need to make my cases (okay, that’s a legitimate one). But I can’t keep putting it off, so I’ll give it a try.

My sewing adventure awaits.