Big Changes.
Hey. It's been a minute. (Or, like a year. Plus.)
It’s no coincidence that I’m posting again right when school has begun. Last week my youngest started Kindergarten. I cried the whole way on our walk home from school drop-off, then I sat at my desk and began working. As bittersweet as this new chapter is, I feel like I’ve been waiting for this moment for a loooooooong time.
First drawing in a quiet house!
But let’s back up a bit. Since I posted last Spring, we bought a house and we pulled our youngest out of daycare. I’ve spent the last year+ slowly fixing our fixer-upper house and more or less putting aside studio time. I enjoyed lots of quality time with my children in between moments of chaos.
I also ended the lease on the studio I was renting. It was a lifesaver while we lived in a small apartment, but I’ve since learned…I really dislike having a studio outside the house. You mean I’ve to put shoes ON?? And DRIVE somewhere? AND pay rent??? Nah, pass.
Old beloved flat file in my old rented studio.
None of this had really been the original plan - I didn’t want to take yet another long stretch of time off from work - but it is what it was and we forged on.
I remember thinking it was going to take forever until both kids were in school, but suddenly it was the week before school began and I was reorganizing a corner of our house to be my work studio. Huzzah!
Before, our daylight basement family room: dark, brown, but spacious!
For the first time in years, I don’t have my own room to use as a studio. I’m still so grateful for the space I do have, even if it’s in the family room and sometimes my kids will be bouncing off the walls. It’s HOME, and I can see our garden outside the large windows while I work.
These big work tables basically belong to the boys now.
We still have a lot of progress to make on our house, but we’ve done a lot in a year. We painted the exterior ourselves. We renovated a bathroom. I’ve done a LOT of interior painting. And we’re slowly transforming the yard - we recently removed all the front grass and installed a new pathway and some landscaping ourselves. Our neighbors keep saying, “Wow! You’re such hard workers!” Yes, but also, we’re DIYer’s. On a budget.
The summer view from my desk - tall Zinnias, buzzing bees, and butterflies.
I’m happy to be drawing again, thinking up new compositions, and enjoying long stretches of silence. We’ve had a really great summer, and I’m inspired to draw moments with my family I want to remember.
“I’m B-O-R-R-R-R-E-D”
Julian, my sparkly, sunshiny sweet summer child, has the attention span of a gnat. “I’m bored” rocketed to the top of this summer’s “Most Commonly Uttered Phrases”. I love him so much and I hope he is not bored in school.
Thanks for reading along!
