Comfort

Today it looks gloomy and stormy outside. It's windy and the clouds have that "drawn with charcoal and then brushed down with a paper towel" look. So, I’m thinking it might actually rain today.

I LOVE rainy days! Maybe it's because I was born in April, but mostly I think it's because of the way it seems to wash everything and leave it fresh and clean smelling. I just love the way it smells right before it rains, while it's raining and after it's done. I also love that it is an excuse to stay inside, hibernating.

I'm wearing the closest thing I have to sweats, having banned actual sweats because I couldn't stop wearing them... in public. They're knit and they have a nice shape and they're comfortable. I'm wearing the shirt my sister sent to me from the college in their town that her husband is going to. I miss her SO much and she sent me this shirt- emotional comfort. The only reason I have anything on my feet was so I could walk Becca out to the bus and those would be the bright pink flip flops I tied scraps of pink and yellow fabric to at my favorite reunion last summer. So, basically I'm dressed as a housewife, not the competitive, "my highlights must be highlightier than yours," just the "I love my kids and I've had a rough week full of doctor appointments and running around and I just wanna stay home" kind of stay at home mom day.

So, what am I going to do today on my day of comfort? I'm going to sew. Wanna know why? There is something about the things I sew that bring a different kind of comfort. I love knowing that the child that will wear the big sized onesies I'm making will have a way to look like everyone else while still having a way to get the food into him the way that he needs it to be. When he sits in his wheelchair or rolls around on the floor, his shirt will stay tucked in. To his Mom, I know that's a big deal. I love knowing that the simple toys I make that are full of texture will bring joy to someone who doesn't always care that toys make noise because they all feel like plastic, but a book full of textured fabrics is fun to feel and colorful to look at. I love the coats and jackets that I make keep kids warm and dry- including their laps, because when you sit in a rain storm, your lap absorbs the most water!

I rarely sew for myself in the physical sense of sewing something for myself. I do sew for myself in the "pay it forward" sense that I'm making something that will make someone else happy. And when they are happy, so are the people around them and so on and so on. So, really I get my gratification when others get theirs from something I've made. I hope that's not too selfish, because I LOVE it SO much!