I'm back again so soon! I am getting ready to begin a new adventure and I'm excited and scared at the same time. It reminded me of the feeling I had last year before I got on a plane for Minneapolis to attend The Creative Connection Event. I went by myself, although I would have loved to have friends along, but it got me out of my comfort zone and forced me to do things I normally wouldn't. I met some of my scrapbook idols there.
I met Becky Higgins who was so sweet and is truly passionate about helping to make scrapbooking less daunting through the development of Project Life.
I heard Stacy Julian speak and the funny, passionate woman that she is came through so clearly as she talked about trying to keep up with her 5 kids while also being a wife and a businesswoman. She was so kind to sign one of her books for me and chat for a few minutes.
I also met some wonderful women who I know are on their way to super-stardom: Jen Levin, fellow mom and scrapbooker and my soul sister; Val Geisert, is an amazing mother and works wonders with nature at Prairie Preservations; Jordan Geisert, Val's lovely daughter who does crafty magic as Jo Sew Cute!; and Emma Burke who has to be the cutest, craftiest blonde I have ever met and her creations for Fl(h)air Accessories are amazing.
I never would have met these charming women had I not gone it alone. So here I am getting ready to head to my first ever Squam Art Workshops all on my own and I am probably even more nervous because I will actually have to make things. In front of other people. But I just know that this is somewhere I need to go.
I first heard of Squam back in January through a group on Facebook when someone mentioned that they were fulfilling their dream of going. This was followed with so many ooohs and aaahs that I had to check it out. The locations alone were enough to spark an interest without even seeing the classes. It is not an experience to be taken lightly as it is something that requires resources. For a few months I mulled the thought of going but kept pushing it out of my mind with the practicalities. And let's face it, practicalities are no fun.
The thing is, Squam just kept popping up here and there when I would least expect it. While I was half-heartedly asking friends if they were interested in going and I was checking to see if I could get help at home, two things happened. The first was when I received one of those travel magazines which had an entire section on lakes. Lo and behold one of the lakes featured was Squam Lake. Before January, I would have read the article and thought that it was beautiful and let it go at that. Now it was a sign.
The second sign was when I saw a Luna Moth for the first time ever and didn't know what it was, only that it was beautiful. A few weeks later I was reading the accounts of the women that had attended the Squam in June and not only did they use beautiful words and photos to describe their experience but they kept talking about these magical creatures called Luna Moths.
I had never heard of a Luna Moth before, I am not sure that they are very prevalent in the Midwest, but I had spent hours going back and forth to watch that day that one showed up at our door. I took this photo because it was so captivating. As it turns out it is rare to see them because they only live for a week. They don't even have mouths to eat with. Their only purpose in life is to mate and then they are gone. I consider myself lucky to have seen one of these special creatures and this confirmed for me that I was headed in the right direction.
I am nervous that I won't be as good as the others. I am nervous about the people I will meet and what they will be like. I am nervous, hoping that the resources used to get there will be well spent. Whether you call it serendipity or synchronicity or a higher power, I am being pointed this direction and I am not one to ignore a call to action. I am Squamward bound.
