It's My Birthday

It's my birthday on July 1st. Canada Day. I have always loved having my birthday the same day as a national celebration and holiday.

Today, I was walking Meeko and thought I am going to be 48 tomorrow. It took me a few more steps to do the mental correction. No, I am going to be 58. Kind of hilarious that I lost a decade but nice that I am feeling younger than I am.

When I initially launched my internet life, I hid my age like a closely guarded secret. I felt like everyone was younger than me. That was especially the vibe, although perhaps not factual, on Etsy. I worried that people wouldn't like or value me as much if they knew how old I was.

I have made many wonderful friends over the past few years of all sorts of ages. We have connected because of mutual interests and values: a sense of humour, art, gardens, music, nature, pets, food, family, life.

Over time, I have realized that creativity is not age-related. It just is. And really, if you're counting, maybe having a few more years under your creative belt is a good thing.

Plus, the age we are is not really relevant every-day conversation, unless you are under five. The people who spend time reminding others that they are younger are not talking about achievements or values. We don't choose when we are born. That's done for us. We're all on a timeline, just at different places. It's better to spend time appreciating connections, celebrating creativity and being who we are.

The photo above was taken three years ago. I found it in my files when I was looking for photos for my new website this past month. I didn't choose it because I wanted to look three years younger. The pickings are slim when you are as camera shy as I am (!) and I just love that it captures a sweet moment between me and Meeko.

To celebrate my birthday and Canada Day, I am offering a 20% discount in my (Shopify) shop www.trowelandpaintbrush.com  on July 1st. Use the coupon BDAY2015. It expires at midnight (EST) at the end of the day on July 1st.

❤   ❤   ❤   ❤  ❤ 

On Age and Amaryllis Bulbs

Well, hello there! I feel like my January is just beginning. Emma went back to school on Monday after a month-long break. So the house is mine again during the days. I don't mean that in a selfish way. I just find it easier to concentrate when I'm alone.

I made it up to my studio yesterday and actually painted. It's so hard after a long break. I get weirdly scared and then everything is fine again, once I get a paintbrush back into my hand. I started to paint an amaryllis bud that had just started to open. I've never grown an amaryllis bulb before. I don't know why. They are so simple to grow. It was included as a bonus when I ordered a bunch of tulip bulbs in the autumn.

And look what I found when I walked up my studio stairs today! I gasped out loud. So extraordinarily beautiful! Its name is 'Rosalie'.  I think I'll do another painting of it.

January just seems to be slipping by. I might have been quiet here but lots was going on. Chloé went back to school on the 8th so she is already busy with school projects and extra-curricular basketball practices and tournaments. Emma started her new term of CEGEP (Quebec's unique college for Grade 12 and 13 students) yesterday. She has recently started taking driving lessons. She had her hair cut--over ten inches which she is giving to a local foundation that makes wigs for children with cancer. She looks so very grown up and beautiful with her new haircut. I sold an original painting out of my studio last week which was a wonderful thing. I've also joined a number of treasury teams on Etsy and have become a leader of one of them. I'm really glad to be back painting and my challenge will be to make sure that my social media accounts (Facebook and Twitter can be such time holes) and Etsy involvement are kept balanced so I can keep producing new work--well, because that's where the joy is.

Chloé made a beautiful family tree for her Spanish class. She used metallic silver and gold markers on black bristol board and cut out photos of apples to represent each person. The class had to present their family trees in front of the class and describe their family members including their ages. I cringed when I heard that. I'm sure I'm the oldest, or one of the oldest, mothers in the class. How did I get so sensitive about this age thing? I surprise myself sometimes. 

Actually last year, my private new year's resolution (and we don't tend to choose the easy things, do we?) was to embrace my age more fully. I don't think I was very successful and here I am a year later and a year older! There's nothing much we can do, is there? Even though there is much talk these days about age acceptance, I'm not always sure it's true. Youth does seem to be revered more than age. And as an artist who relaunched her career in her fifties (there I said it!), I think I worry about being pegged or ignored because of my age. I was very interested in reading Lisa Congdon's blog post this week. It really resonated with me even though I am a full decade older than she is. There, I'm getting very brave, aren't I? And now I will go look at my blog stats and see if my readers are running for the hills.

Here's a special somebody who doesn't care how old I am. I'm willing to bet he loves me just the way I am and almost as much as he loves snow.