An Interesting Conversation

 Hi everyone.. here it is January and a new year has started. The weather here in the Gaspe is incredible. It is like spring today with the sun so bright and temperatures warmer than it should be. I am so grateful, although I do feel bad for other places that are having a  colder than usual winter.

 Today I would like to tell you about a conversation I had when I went to my local yarn store after work on Thursday. I had been knitting a pair of my wool felted slippers that I sell in my Etsy shop and of course with only two more rows to go, I ran out of yarn. That was on Monday and all week I looked at that slipper wishing to find  a little more of that colour,  somewhere in the house. I searched everywhere in  all my hiding places that I keep yarn. Yes, under the bed, in my clothes cupboard, under my work desk, throughout all the storage containers and baskets in my craft room, but not one little bit of green yarn did I find.

 So Thursday after work I headed down to the yarn shop which is only open three days a week, as the owner has to work at another job to  keep herself going.   She hopes to one day be able to support herself but for now, not enough people are knitting I guess.  Unfortunately, we are all caught up in the race to earn enough money to pay our bills, with little time left over to pursue our creative interests

 Whe I entered the yarn shop  there was a woman sitting back knitting in a cozy rocking chair. I thought she was a customer, but no she was replacing the shop owner for the day. I told her she looked so peaceful and relaxed and  I could tell she was happy, enjoying the clicking of her needles, lost in her thoughts.  As we began to talk , I realised that we had been in the hospital together 21 years ago when we had our babies.  We both agreed that  time had passed so fast and then  she began to tell me a bit about where she was in her life. It was one of those moments that is life changing, I guess an ahhhhh moment like Oprah says.

She had just quit her job... imagine in this economy quitting a job. It was not just an ordinary job as she  walked away from a position  in a hospital that paid her a big salary, pension plan, complete medical coverage, that had been part of her life for 25 years. She was too young to retire but she made a choice to change her life. She had 3  girls   all planning soon to go to college and University and a husband who had a regular job without any benefits.

 How I asked did she have had the courage to make such a decision?  she said it  was a choice she made for herself and her well being. She could no longer stand the craziness of her workplace, nor the demands that  were against what she felt was right for the businesses clients. It was all about results and no longer about the people  that they were serving. So she left and walked away from what we all   have to deal with  and strive for in our present jobs.... security. 

 I looked at her  in amazement... as she stood in front of me with a smile that expressed  a feeling of peace with herself and her decision. She said that she had no regrets and had never been happier, nor felt better healthwise. She said that she had got back her energy .... something that she believed was gone forever. It had been a year since she had made the decision and somehow they were okay financially. She had found other part time work here and there and her family was happier. She said she  was still able buy what she needed but she  had gotten rid of the clutter that filled her life.  Life in all its mystery,   just brought her what she needed and  her family did  not feel deprived. Most importantly she said that she never had  to sacrifice her need for yarn which brought a smile across both of our faces.

 I left that  store with a new found energy.....  life is about choices and  I guess we have to find the courage to take the steps towards finding the right path  for our own lives. To make  the changes that will bring us to the place we want to be, we have to walk away from what we have, or  who we are with,  or  what we are  doing.

 I came home and  picked up my knitting needles and finished that slipper. As I sat  there knitting , I thought about what changes I will have to make to get to where I want to be... hummmm!!!!