homebody

I am really contented this morning.

I am picturing myself settled in at my frame. I plan to hook most of the morning. Just the thought of knowing it is there waiting for me, makes me relaxed. Knowing there is nothing on my calendar, nothing I have to rush into town for, I can just get into it. Let's hope my day goes as planned.

I just looked at my calendar for next month and it is wide open. I will leave it like that. Lots of space and time for studio work. Time to visit with people travelling through, time to fix them a drop of tea. I like being there. 

I think having the studio and the joy around it is part of the reason I rarely want a vacation. Every once in a while I need a couple of days in the city, but mostly, I still feel after thirty four years that my work is my joy. I am fortunate. There are no plans for retirement in my future. I have asked myself time and time again if there is anything I would regret by choosing to work instead of leisure and travel, and I can safely say, these considerations only confirm that I am a homebody. I love to make stuff. I love my routine.

I always like to know where my hot water bottle is. I love having a pile and books and a few too many shoes, both things that are heavy and bulky to carry on vacation. Every once in a while I look at a map and think oh that would be lovely. I wish I could teleport myself there for three days, but alas, not possible because it takes a day or two to get there. 

My good friend just got back from eight weeks away. I missed her dearly. My first question was how was it to be away from your home that long? And for her it was fine. She missed home, was ready to come back, but she had a wonderful trip. She is a born traveller.

You might be too, I imagine. You might love the idea of a flight, then a boat, then a beach or a city full of art, or ruins and castles. It does sound rather wonderful. And I get the joy in that for others. Just me, well I would miss my wool, my papers, the desk by my window, the chair in the corner. Honestly I would miss the vegetable peeler in my kitchen, that is the kind of homebody I am. I am committed. 

Over the years I have travelled. I am glad I did. I saw beautiful things in far away places, and seeing those things have helped me see the landscape around me more clearly. Sometimes I went on these trips because I felt some pressure to travel within myself. I knew I should see more of the world. Sometimes I went because others really wanted me to go. Every time they were a really good experience yet, this morning as I look from this chair in the corner to my rug frame, I am so very grateful to be home with an empty calendar. Time to make. Time to be myself. Time to let this little world around me unfold as it will.