In these times, in our country, many women live isolated lives. Mothers feel societal pressure to do everything themselves - the cooking, the cleaning, the housework, the child rearing, and perhaps holding down a job on top of all that.
When I first had children, I found myself quickly overwhelmed and feeling alone. When I was faced with a troublesome domestic issue of some kind, I would ask myself, what would the African tribal woman do? But as much as I love the tribal lifestyle, I eventually had to come to terms with the fact that I am not surrounded by dozens of women who I have known all my life, who work alongside me to accomplish all of our daily tasks. I am not, in fact, a part of a tribe. At least not in the same sense.
In modern day America, our "tribes" exist in flux and with much effort. Friends and family come and go, move away, get too busy, gravitate to other friends. They are not, for the most part, living next door to us all of our lives. Even if they are, they are similarly consumed with trying to handle the myriad obligations facing them. We have to fight to build and keep community. We have to prioritize to make it happen, to uphold and strengthen and encourage one another. It is easy to get bulldozed by life, tumbled through the clutter of our schedules, pushed forward until we look back and realize we have not taken time to enjoy life or to take care of ourselves.
But we were never meant to do this alone. We are meant to live and work and bring up our children in relationship with one another, in community. And community does not mean posting on someone's facebook page. For ourselves and for the friends - or potential friends - who need us, it is good to fight to create our own sort of tribe.
And that is the reason for these workshops. When you come to a workshop, you will create something lovely to enrich your celebration of life, enjoy yummy food and fun cocktails, and mingle with other women who are in the trenches all week. You will not have to bother with preparation or clean-up. You will sit down and relax and recuperate.
Although you could choose, of course, to collect your own supplies and sit down with your good friend Pinterest and a beer and do your own crafting at home or attend a flouresent-lit $15.00 workshop at the fabric store, that is something else altogether.
I hope to create a place of beauty, full of beautiful candlelight and beautiful chocolates and beautiful mai tais and beautiful conversation with all of you beautiful, overworked, exhausted women out there who feel a need for connection and friendship and encouragement and Beauty.
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