Ho-hum holidays

The holidays always bring out a wide range of emotions. There is the joy of finding the perfect gift for someone you love, the hope for a peaceful communion with family, the love expended on random acts of kindness, and always anticipation sprinkled in. But there can also be sadness. Some of my friends report a feeling of dread, loss, and pain. Sometimes its the cultural expectations and pressures of consumerism that feed into those feelings. Sometimes the holidays evoke bad family memories. Sometimes there is a loss that symbolizes the holidays. And sometimes there is sadness for no good reason at all.

For me, this holiday season has been full of a range of emotions. As I reflect over the past year, I am filled with an appreciation of how incredibly blessed I am to have health, love, and joy in my life. And I’m also trying to embrace and be gracious for the feelings of sadness I’ve been experiencing in unusual frequency. This year my daughter is living out of the country in Australia and it’s the first time she won’t be with us for the holidays. She’s 28 and having an amazing experience of a lifetime. I’m excited for her adventure and understand the reasons why she can’t be here, but it doesn’t take away my longing for the familiar. And although I can see her beautiful face through the magic of technology, I really just want to wrap my arms around her. My best friend lost her Father, a wonderful human being, unexpectedly a couple of weeks ago. Imagining his spark being extinguished, and the pain in my friend’s eyes has been difficult to soldier through. But I think what has contributed most to my feelings of loss this year were the events in a little rural community called Newtown, where a senseless act of brutality was viciously waged against innocent children and their caregivers. My mind has reeled trying to make sense of the tragedy. I have listened to an entire nation grieve, neighbors and friends talk about their shock and disbelief, and family members brought to tears while experiencing feelings of hopelessness and despair. My oldest sons reaction was repeatedly “No words. I have no words.” And my youngest sons was simply a note handed to me while I was on a conference call that said “What is the world coming to?”

These events have all shaped my holiday season this year. I know the little gray cloud will lift and I will, once again, be able to celebrate the light. But I think, for now, in this moment in time, it’s important to allow room to grieve. Whether it’s the holiday season or not.

Inspiration board

Inspiration Board

I have always found comfort in prayer and reflection. I’m a collector of favorite quotes, where I often find inspiration. This month’s upcycld project sets the stage for renewal and reflection.

This project was designed to re-work a little wooden display table that had a bad leg. Instead of trying to fix the leg for the hundredth time, I decided to remove all the other healthy legs (I’ll save them for another future project). I’m using the base of the table for an “Inspiration Board” to display my favorite quotes and prayers. Mine has magnets on the page to attach to my metal door but you could affix with a picture hanger or double-sided sticky tape.

Step 1) I removed the legs from the table. These were easy because they simply screwed into the bottom of the table. You might have to saw legs off though instead.

Step 2) Gather some coordinating leftover scrapbook papers that you like.

Step 3) Place rubber cement over the surface of the table. Turn over the scrapbook papers and paint rubber cement on the back. Let dry.

Step 4) Paint a layer of Gel Medium to protect the paper from damage. Gel Medium is available at Crafts Stores and is used for collage and mixed media art.

Step 5) Let dry thoroughly.

Step 6) Add decorative touches. I added a little metal flower that I had saved from another broken household item, but you can use anything you like to add flourish.

Step 7) Add a flat clip with Super Glue.

Step 8) Affix magnets (or picture hanger, double-sided stickey tape, etc.) to the back of the “Inspiration Board”.

Step 9) Clip up your favorite quote, poem, artwork, whatever you need to help inspire you.

May you have joy, peace, and love this holiday season.

Happy Upcycling!

NOTE: This post was originally published on upcycld.com on December 15, 2012.