Making friends

Deanne, Carolyn, Me, Annette and Karen.

So I said I’d write about a meet up I had last week and here it is. Being friendly and making new friends isn’t a forgone conclusion. Sure it’s easy when you sit next to someone every day, like the same sandwich fillings, colours, animals, music and books. But in my experience as I got older making new friends, not just acquaintances, colleagues or my children’s friend’s mums kind of friends became hard.( Well for me that is, and I do value all those friendly people, some of who are slowly becoming friends. )I don’t know when that happened and it hasn’t been a problem because with a loving husband, awesome daughters,a Mum who is one of my best friends, a few very good friends and a busy life I thought I was content.

One year ago I did this fabulous course run by the wonderful Pip Lincolne. I was at a cross roads of sorts, My girls were so much more independent and busy, my husband was even busier than usual and really engrossed in study as well and I felt lost… really lost. It seemed like all of a sudden I wasn’t needed so much and there was a BIG gap. I had tried filling the gap with learning to sew quilts, buying a fancy sewing machine, learning more about sewing, trying to learn to draw and sewing more quilts (or at least starting them). I had given myself permission to have creative days, but sometimes would find myself just looking at all my lovely supplies wondering what the point of it all was. Sad right? I wasn’t sad, but one day I was really sad, I cried and took myself off to bed in the day time! I just needed to surrender to all the feelings.

About two days later I popped over to Pip’s  Meet me at Mikes blog for some cheeriness, saw this new course Pip was running about creativity called Inspiration Information and felt it was calling me. I was beyond nervous when I clicked the add to cart button (online course virgin), but it sounded like exactly what I needed ,an investment in me and my creative journey. I imagined all these artistic, accomplished people in the class and it terrified me but I had committed so I began. Now of course hah, I can see how far I have come with that, I just am happy with where I am at and jump into new things at the drop of a hat!!! YAY for that.

Fast forward a bit…. Inspiration Information was the best course I have ever done, I learnt things about myself, about creativity and I became braver, more authentic, more creative and ….HAPPIER. And along the way I made some new friends, because as it turns out somewhere along the way, being a grown up I had stopped meeting new people in real life who valued creativity as much as I do.Inspiration Information was full of lovely creative, friendly, kind, supportive and encouraging people (ladies who were all of those things).People who, after hanging out with online with for a year somehow became friends. And…. last weekend some of us were fortunate enough to be able to meet up in real life. I know amazing right!

And better than that is it was so nice, chatting over tea, chai and latte’s at the NVG in Melbourne. Talking about all sorts of things from what we are making, literary speed dating, careers,school lunches and learning to difficult family relationships and house cleaning. Of course we talked about our creative hero Pip Lincolne and creativity too !

As I drove home and all through the week I have been thinking how very grateful I am for these new friends, this little creative tribe and I feel someone must have been looking out for me to get me to this happy creative fulfilling life I’m living right now.

Phew, that post just poured out of me. Thanks for reading. If you want to read more, Carolyn has written a beautiful post on her new blog and Annette has written some wonderful words(as she does) over on her blog. Also you want to know more about Inspiration Information head here. ( oh and there is one starting soon !) . Oh and if you happen to be reading this Thank you Pip Lincolne from the bottom of my heart xx

Your Truly,

Emily x

p.s I am also so grateful for all my friends ever , and the kid’s friend’s mums (some of whom have become friends) and the friendly people I meet at work whose chats I value. This is an edit after waking up last night and realising I need to say this.