A Time For Everything...

There’s nothing Creative about being sick.

What started as a sore throat and tickle exploded into a raging sore throat Saturday morning that sent me to the weekend Medical Clinic.  One glance at my tonsils had the doctor writing out a prescription on a little pad for some antibiotics.  Apparently the virus that Erin had last weekend (and gave me so much supply work at her school last week) falls somewhere in between the standard rhino virus and an influenza, but in some people it is going to their throat or lungs.  My body’s battleground has always been my tonsils, but this time the dry cough that goes with this bug is making them feel more raw than ever.

So I kept myself home this weekend, sooked and slept and drank lots of liquids.  Eating just hurt too much.

Creativity still found a way to make our family marvel at how differently everyone can see things.  It started out with this interesting pepper that came in a batch we bought at a local produce stand.  My girls forbid me to chop it up with the rest because it had a face.  The interesting thing was, two of us in the family saw the face THIS way...

and the other two saw the face here...

Like one of those reversible optical illusions of the two vases and the profiles or the old woman and the young one, each of us saw one face stronger  at first until the others pointed out where they saw it... and then we could see both.

Creativity is pretty unstoppable once you start looking for ways that it creeps into your life.

I, on the other hand, felt very stoppable as I honked and snorted my way through an entire box of kleenex.  I moped around the house in my big fluffy bathrobe and fuzzy slippers and even Nick admitted I looked pretty pathetic.  The only thing that seemed remotely creative were the wild dreams last night when I broke down and had a swig of cold and flu drink to clear my nose enough to breathe.

Breathing really is about each INHALE and EXHALE...

INHALE: This past week has been a huge lesson in how you cannot plan for what Life may suddenly throw at you. It has also taught me that you can’t always live on a Creative high.  Despite a sudden burst of warmer temperatures and sunshine, I can tell that my gardens are winding down for the season.  Fighting the cold this weekend, feeling so miserable and unproductive compared to just a week ago, reminds me that every Creative period must also have a time to lie dormant or fallow.  Everything needs a chance to rest now and then to recharge.

EXHALE:  Create a comfort plan, even if you are feeling at the top of your game.  I opened my sketchbook after supper tonight as I curled up on the couch Create a comfort plan, even if you are feeling at the top of your game.  I opened my sketchbook after supper tonight as I curled up on the couch and wrote out a list of all the things that brought me comfort... from clothing and food to music and activities.  You can write this, collage it, photograph it, doodle it... but think of how you would create a comfort NEST for the next time you have to just take time to recharge and be still.  Knowing what brings you comfort can be an important part of  taking care of yourself on a deeper level.  Think of it as Vitamin C or echinacea for your soul.