Everyone Has Their Own Reason

Everyone has their own reason or reasons for having a blog.  So, I'm going to share why I started one; but more importantly I'm sharing what made me start re-purposing furniture in the first place.

For me it started after a long week of little sleep, on a late one night in November.  I was traveling back from my sister's house after tending her two daughters.  My own children were sleeping peacefully in the back of the car.  I was stopped at a stoplight, my heart aching and my mind reeling with the realization that I would not see my sister in this life again.  Giselle had died, from a seizure, just a few weeks before her 28th birthday.  As I was sitting at the stoplight, I looked over to see a car full of teenage girls laughing and having a wonderful time!  It was amazing to think that they were having such a wonderful time and loving each others' company, and I was completely full of grief.  The thought occurred to me that these fun-loving, happy girls had no idea what I was going through and it made me wonder how many times I had sat at a stoplight laughing and singing with my sister, oblivious to the person's thoughts and feelings just feet away from me.

That moment was a wake up moment for me; a moment where I hoped I could, in the future, be better at giving people the benefit of the doubt and strive to be understanding even when someone is rude or unkind.

My sis had the foresight to get a family picture taken only a week or two before she died.

Even with all my well intended goals to be better, it didn't stop the ache of longing to talk with my sister again or to sing a duet with her at church or play a fun game and beat the other team because we could signal each other or give clues from times in our past that were unknown to anyone else in the room.  :-)  My days were filled with tending her two young daughters and my two young children.  And that was wonderful work, which kept me contented and busy trying to teach four kids under the age of three their letters, how to tie their shoes; changing diapers, loading them into the car for trips to the grocery store or library for story time, etc. 

My kiddos are on the left, her's on the right.  They were 3, 3, 15 months, 4 months.

However, after the kids were all snug in the beds and the night still relatively young, I struggled!  After weeks of trying to pull myself up from the bootstraps, my husband finally suggested that perhaps I should look into taking some kind of class; something that I would be interested in, that could also keep me occupied during the evenings until the hurt lessened some.

I found a class on upholstery work at the local community college and enrolled.  After taking it again and again (4 or 5 times, I can't remember), and working on lots of upholstered chairs, I began to feel a little better and over time, I grew to love being able to take something old and make it new again!

That concept, of taking something old and renewing it, was one that Giselle thrived on! Ever elegant, but always careful about money, she could take a piece of garbage and turn it into something amazing!  One time, she had found some old galvanized wire in her husband's stash in their garage; she put beads on it, twisted it around and made me six napkin holders for a wedding gift.  She was great at small crafts, a talent that I did NOT have!  Small crafts just about drive me crazy - but big hunkin' projects are right up my alley.

Now, each time work on a piece of furniture or make something beautiful out of a cast out item, I feel that a little part of my sister lives on.  And I'm forever grateful that my husband suggested that I take a class and am thankful especially for my sister's influence that continues even today!