A Buddy

Guess what this little lady got for Christmas. She wrote a letter to Santa Clause in September asking for her own sewing machine. It was the one and only thing she asked for (over and over again) for four months. How can a parent (er, I mean Santa) refuse? So I worked out a little exchange with my sister and viola: Anna is a beginning seamstress at age five.

I sure love the company.  Right now she is still just getting used to the machine while I work on sheets for her doll bed, but her plans are big.  Already her sewing list includes an apron and a fancy dress for her doll, and a dress, shirt and endless skirts for herself.  She sounds a little too much like her mama whose to-do list includes marble bags for an upcoming birthday party, satin Sunday dresses, a birthday dress for Lu and a quiet book with “paper” dolls. 

Sometimes I worry about the time and money that is spent in that studio.  Sometimes I feel like I am being selfish by working in there, even when I’m making things for my family.  The housework lags, dinner is late, laundry piles up, bathrooms remain unsanitary.  It is a hard balance for me.  I try to sew during nap times or with children crawling around me, sometimes working on their own projects, sometimes just talking about their day.  But when the kids are in the studio it seems virtually impossible to make progress on any of my own projects; they need help, they need attention, they need Mom.  Often I become frustrated. 

So I have to focus on the good that happens in that room.  Sometimes it is the happiest and most crowded room in the house.  The memories made, the skills honed, the experiences shared.  It is a good place to be, most of the time.  And I’m grateful for my new little sewing buddy even though I feel pretty sure it means, at least for a while, I won’t be getting much crossed off my to-do list.  I feel so blessed to have this amazing little girl in my life and to share a little bit of who I am with her, while soaking up every sweet bit of her I can.  I love that we can share this.  I can’t help but smile when I think of all the wonderful fabric-filled projects in our future.  Love that girl.