C’est la Vie

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In case anyone didn’t notice, I’m a bit late with the blog this time. In fact, I’m so late that it’s the next month already. There are various reasons for this, which can be summed up into one sentence: life happens.

As much as I would LOVE to, I do not write full time. I have a day job which involves teaching English to foreigners around the world, something I usually enjoy since I get to talk to some very interesting people. I have also learned a LOT about other cultures and consider myself in an ongoing education about the world and our relationships with it and each other.

I say I usually enjoy my job because there are, of course, days that I don’t want to do it. I am mostly an introvert; I enjoy time to myself, time to think and just be in the silence. Talking to people takes a lot of effort and energy on my part and I can often be found ‘switching off’ after a day of classes, my mind in another realm entirely much to the complaints of the people I live with. I am a writer at heart, someone who can easily spend an entire day at the computer, my fingertips at one with the keyboard, as long as I don’t have to talk to anyone.

I also started a new hobby a year ago. I started crafting, gathering old and unwanted bits of wood, Christmas decorations, dishes, bottles, jars – anything that spoke to my imagination – and I turned them into things that I hoped would spark joy in someone else. I like pretty objects, pieces of unique art, and I found that making them brought me the same kind of peace that writing does. I have done a couple of craft fairs this year, I haven’t made a ton of money yet, but my skills are improving all the time and again, I get to meet all sorts of interesting people while also doing my bit for charity (local fairs are usually organised by charities and charge a small fee to hold a stall at their events). So far I have made key-rings, candle holders, decorated stones, necklaces, rings, magnets, hanging signs and one-of-a-kind decorations. I hope that the ones that have gone on to a new home bring a smile to their owner’s face. They certainly do that for me; like writing, I have come to realise that crafting is a kind of therapy. And that’s what hobbies are, right? They bring us happiness, an escape, a reason to smile. Just like a good book.

We also gained a new family member a few weeks ago. While shopping with our daughter on her birthday, she was distracted by a mewing somewhere in the building. She declared that she was off to find the source and a minute later, I followed her. There, hiding beneath a sun lounger on display was a little tabby kitten, its stumpy tail bent in that special way that only feral cats seem to have. I picked him up (actually, for the first month, I was convinced he was a she) and the little mite meowed at me before rubbing his face on mine with a loud purr. That was it, my heart melted. A few passers-by encouraged me to take him home, saying that he had been seen hanging around the area alone, a common occurrence around these parts. I knew it would be difficult because we already have a dog and a cat and I felt that was a good enough number to leave alone. But how could I walk away? I couldn’t. We fed him some cat food, which he followed up with our Burger King scraps (the boy will still eat pretty much anything) and we took him home. Now he is as much a part of the family as anyone else, animal or human. He is an excellent bug exterminator and full of affection and even when he drives us crazy with his shenanigans, we remember that we did the right thing. Welcome to the family, Loki!

Of course, there are also the ongoing, every-day activities that seem to take up far too much of my precious time (mostly because I don’t enjoy them). Housework, errands, shopping, dealing with adult problems that crop up way more often than they should, but which are a part of life for most people. I get through them because I relate to Monica from Friends more than any of the other characters: what is better for an introvert than checking off that to-do list and relaxing in a calm, peaceful, tidy and clean environment? Sometimes we have to sift through the crap before we find our happy place.

So, that’s it. Reasons that this blog was late. It won’t be the last time, either. Because life is busy, a constant hamster wheel of repetition with a few curve balls thrown in just to keep you on your toes. And that’s okay, do you know why? We have to stay grateful. And learning.

Forever learning.