14 - Creative Memories

Day 14: Describe a vivid memory/story from your childhood.

When I was in 3rd grade, Mom and Dad asked Rach and I what gifts we wanted... and of all things, I asked for a Calligraphy Kit I'd seen at Hobby Lobby earlier that week.  It was a book by Ken Brown that included some practice sheets and markers for beginners.  I was so excited when I got it, and I practiced hard that year and learned a few different styles. (Looking back, Mom's high praise made me feel pretty confident in my talent, but my 3rd grade calligraphy definitely looks like 3rd grade calligraphy. #rough)  However, I'm so thankful that I was encouraged in it, as all children should be in their interests and hobbies, because it paid off in the end. Over the years, I stopped drawing as much but kept going with calligraphy and lettering. For the most part, it's still fun for me, and something I can gratefully say I'm pretty good at today, after 22 years of practice! lol  I've done wedding invitations, name plates, quotes, verses, etc. It's become much more natural to freehand it and try new styles and non-calligraphy pens.  Original ideas are not my strong suit, but I've always been pretty good at copying what I can see right in front of me. #metaphorforlife  I like the dancing, dramatic spins and embellishments and the beautiful, subtle details... and mostly, I love that it makes people feel special.  All that to say, I'm thankful that my 3rd grade self chose a Calligraphy Kit over another toy or something. :) 

(These two were messed up because of wrong addresses, so I figure it's safe to post them.)

This one was surprisingly hard... a lot of my childhood memories kind of blur together in a happy blend of pools and cookie dough and butterscotch pudding and bikes and glamour shots and silly string, and I've already covered most of my detailed memories in a Memory Monday post somewhere! :)

On another note, here's a pic from this week of my b-day lunch with JEM and Chettles at Andolini's - same table, seats, and pizza as the last time! =) Tasty and fun!!

Finally, Happy Pi Day, as I've just learned via Facebook! Another quirky thing with me is that I love cool numbers and dates, so stuff like this makes me happy. What were you doing on 3/14/15 at 9:26:53?  (Today's date and that time = the first 10 digits in Pi.)  If I'd known that early enough, I'd have chosen something more special, but as it is, I was texting my friend, Lindsay, about a possible career move.  

On second thought, that works...  Pi = a repeating pattern that never ends, so perhaps the end of Pi Day can signal a time for changing patterns you have felt stuck in. Yep, I like that a lot!! :)