Stealing Time for Hobbies

There's something about my life being chaotic that pulls me towards being crafty. Over the past month, with our new puppy, my boys and their summer schedules and my husband's new travel routine, I feel like I've been pulled in about twenty different directions and my head won't stop spinning. I find myself pulling out my scrapbooking materials, looking at design books and creating a wish list of projects I want to complete. I get inspired by women like Donna Downey and Cathy Zielske and Ali Edwards. Amazingly talented women and working moms who spend their days creating art. 

I've realized my need to craft comes from a need to pull away from my laptop -- my 24-hour access to all-things-work. Because my work day is like a patchwork quilt, I could spend every free moment writing.

With crafts, it's just me and time with absolute focus on creating pretty things.

Between work and being a mom, it's really easy for hobbies to get left by the wayside -- especially new ones. (It's not all that cool to whip out an electric guitar after the kids are asleep.) And let's face it, work is always there. I could easily work every single night until the wee hours of the next morning. Somehow, we always force ourselves to make time for work. To catch up. To get ahead. (Sound familiar?) 

But you have to steal time for yourself.