Countdown.

I struggled with postpartum after the birth of Nolan. Depression and I have crossed paths in the past, so I was warned this might be an issue. Because I was nursing, I didn’t want to use medication unless necessary. I briefly tried therapy (so glad to have that chance to talk about my mother), but it was not effective. What was?

Craft time!

That’s right. Taking off my “mama” hat for a bit and delving into a creative activity helped me feel like a real person again. So I am eternally grateful for my friend, Amy, who scrapbooked with me. I told her repeatedly that she was better than Prozac. Since that time, I use crafts (Amy’s brought other crafts into my life - painting, puzzles) to get out of my funk. Over the last several months, another friend, Jackie, also worked on crafts with me. In fact we also want to do some knitting in the near future - a pastime I’ve visited time and again in the past. Amy likes to crochet, so we will probably have a skein party soon!

What would I do without these dear craft friends of mine? Well, I will have to find out in the all-to-near future because both will be moving in the next few months (Amy in late April, Jackie in late June). It’s one of the facts of State College life. Most of the population is transient. They will both leave to step into their next phases of life, thereby leaving me sans craft buddy.

…

HOW DARE THEY?!?!? How dare they leave me! Now I’ll have this HUGE craft gap in my life. I could DIE. Okay, so maybe that’s a bit far. I won’t really die. But I’m not stretching it by much. I will undoubtedly… uh… how do I say it?… metaphorically wither into a craft buddy-less pile of melancholy. Yeah. That’s it. And do they care? No. They are going to go “further their careers,” and “follow their dreams,” and “develop as human beings.” How selfish.

I ask you to pray for the hearts of these two women. They are obviously making the wrong choice. I mean, just because they’re brilliant, does that mean they should go “make the most of their talents?” Should they “blossom to their potential?” Or “take their genius to the next step?” Sure they’ve worked hard to get where they are, but does that mean they should ”enjoy the fruits of their labor?” I don’t think there will be any argument. The answer is easy. Of course!…not. They should stay here with me and craft, craft, craft!

If you know these women, I invite you to talk to them. Help enlighten them. It will really help me them.