Which is still a tender point. I have felt complete freedom to arrange/decorate as I please. Red RED tomato red bedroom walls...loved this room of ours for 7 years! I feel that the years of freedom to practice decorating in our home has been a great way to learn. And then friends/acquaintances have started to ask me for help...
I paint. I paint everything. The joke is, "if it holds still, I will paint it!"
I am thankful for lovebags and furniture passed sideways. For example: the crib that I couldn't pass along....
I had gotten rid of ALL my baby paraphernalia after Suzanna's birth--I was so sick with Crohn's Disease, and didn't think we were going to have any more children. Pregnant with baby #5 who was going to have to sleep in a laundry basket (not the antique bassinet inherited from my dad-they all sleep in that at birth, but it doesn't last long with my long-legged babies!)
A friend from Church gave us their old crib before Sam was born. The older four children helped me paint it with crazy colors to welcome their new brother. You can see one of the end pieces behind the bench, on the right of the glass doors.
I have hung the rails together as an art piece.
Today one of the rails holds family history hearts. It is no longer a crib with all the parts, or maybe it could be reconstructed to give away or future grandma service (when our children come home with their children to visit, no announcement).
Sideways Lovebag requirements:
1. someone gives you something with no expectation for re numeration and they are decluttering and serving you.
2. the gift isn't their livelihood, what they do professionally, in which case when you ask them for help and they give it you should ASK and offer to pay them for materials/service, or the artist/decorator should have the confidence to bill them accordingly.
3. if it is family or a good GOOD friend, it is different. There is an understanding of reciprocity, sustaining one another, serving because you love them.
I can tell I am talking about more than one thing, and I still need to forgive and let go of some resentment for work done for free...art work, not babysitting.
We've been talking about Zion in daily seminary--one heart, one mind, and no poor among them.
We aren't near to that. The inequality, and the combination of lazy/won't work verses sick/can't work and the worker bees/service-oriented and the worker bees/take advantage-of-other's-service is complicated.
I am not saying this well.
So I should stop and embrace the stupor of tongue/typing fingers. EDIT
3 comments:
It was well said and clearly expressed the complex nature of the situation.
I have felt frustrated when I haven't been able to reciprocate like I would like. At the same time, I don't usually expect reciprocation when I give. Once I give a gift, I like to think it's given, done, over. I don't even feel bad if it's destroyed or passed on to someone else. So maybe I shouldn't worry so much about it. But then I don't have a profession where I could give a service that I could be paid for instead. That makes it more complicated. There are definitely a lot of complicated emotions involved with giving and receiving.
It can be a very thin line sometimes especially I think within the church. Where is the line between service and business when you know and love the people? I'm so glad you have the confidence now to charge for your services. It's especially important for your family now.
I LOVE the recycled crib! It is so beautiful. You are so talented at creating beauty all around!
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