Let us not forget and get out there and do some crafting...I'll be sending out weekly crating snippets for the balance of March. 

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Happy Beading!

July 2nd my life's mentor had to leave me. My mother entered the gates of larger life.

Then just a short 6 weeks later I also lost another 'parent' like mentor and I must now learn to find my path in this new world without them.

Losing my mother is a great loss but one that is inevitable to happen. If you live you also must die. Mother did live. She continues to live in me and in everyone she touched through her 85 years of life. The loss is great and the hole is huge. But life moves on. 

I can’t change it only move forward, that’s what Mother would tell me and taught me, "you can’t stand still Teri", so I honor her memory by carrying on what I learned from her and continue to strive to be a better person for it. I don't make light of this loss, it is quite significant but that is not what I am really talking about here. 

While still relishing in losing such a significant part of my life I have also lost what feels like another ‘parent’ that has been nurturing me and was a constant comfort for the past 5 years, my writing home of Squidoo.

You may not have been familiar with this website and it is about to be no more in just a few short days and it will be easily replaced whereas losing my mother can never be replaced. But for me Squidoo was like a parent to me, teaching me how to talk, write and gain my footing finding my voice on the internet. It was just like a parent/child relation to me. 

I was an infant and they saw me through my first steps, my first words, crawling until I could run, educating me from kindergarten beginning with the ABC’s to graduation and released me out to the world to explore and make my way but remaining there for that behind the scenes support.

I tried other writing platforms and they were alright but something kept drawing me back to Squidoo.  There was a ‘playfulness’ in the community, a ‘lightheartedness’ and it oozed with positivity [is that even a word?].  Maybe it was those cute little monsters. It seemed while others were playing 'farmville' or what ever the most current trending game was at the time I was writing, earning points and monsters on Squidoo, that was productivity for me. It resonated with me and I quickly found my home, my community of writers that I could learn to grow from and grow with. 

They allowed me freedom to explore in learning to be ‘me’ not teaching me to be ‘them’. They didn't train me to duplicate their voice but to find my own voice. 

It was the support I needed. The voices said it’s okay to fall down and cheered me on to get up and try again, nurturing the baby steps to adulthood. Isn't that what a parent does?

But...

August 15 changed all of that and within a few short days they will be gone and all that is left behind is what I take away from the relationship. I have a support system in place, my squid brothers and sisters that I will continue with but I must learn to stand on my own 2 feet.

Squidoo closing has created mixed emotions just as in my mother’s death, not the same level of depth of course, but they both have their very strong similarities in my life. 

Both nurtured, groomed and taught me right from wrong. Both trained me in a trade. With their departure it has provided me opportunity to write my own script for life now without their constant support. They both live in me but it’s up to me in the end to set my own course, make my way and learn to work differently as I continue on. 

So this is my farewell to Squidoo and Mom, you have taught me to stand on my own 2 feet and I hope I make you proud…now it’s time to grow.

Ado Squidoo…here's to a good run and friends/family made. Cheers to our next 'season'.

If you would like to follow me, here is where you can find me hanging out with my beading and writings. Please let me know you have been by for a visit and feel free to leave your feedback, it's a growth thing.

Are you creative?  

You have probably asked yourself that question at some time or another.

What are you creative in?

Is creativity limited with just working with your hands or does it effect other areas of your life and incorporate your other senses?

I feel I am a very creative seamstress but lack in creativity with my cooking, I do much better turning out a tasty meal for my family when I follow a recipe.
Isn't a recipe just a creative cook's tutorial?

Or what about writing?  I enjoy writing but have to work at it and still don't feel I do a good enough job that I could spin a fictional story out to entertain you enough to persuade you to buy a copy.

How do you develop creativity and how do you nurture it? I would like to hear your thoughts of what you do.

My schedule changes during the school summer break and having my children at home 24/7 (with the exception of occasional camps) breaks my routine.  I spend more time with them, keep myself flexible for outings during the day, keep later hours and get up later in the mornings plus do more traveling.  So feeling creative is put on hold to spend that time with my kids.  

School starts back next week and I'm gearing up to get back into my routine and have found myself out of sorts wondering how I will work differently.  

As I was cruising the internet this morning I found a blog from a woman who combines blogging with her creativity. For her they go hand in hand.

In one of her post she talks on this very topic.  It spoke to me and I found myself in her words. I thought I would share it with you.  Have a look at her take on "Are You Creative?"

Share with us what you do to nurture your creativity and feel free to share suggestions how others can as well.