DreamSpace Arts

My husband and I were talking about the events of the past year and it really made me think.  With all the talk lately about being thankful and sharing the good things, I thought I’d share with all of you. 

Our lives have been a true rollercoaster between family crises and health challenges.  Without going into a lot of detail, we’ve touched bottom and are on our way back up financially.  We’ve had to rearrange and regroup all sorts of things. 

Everyone talks about being grateful, but so many times, it’s so easy to take the status quo for grated.  We forget to be grateful for the little things that happen.  Every tiny thing is a blessing, good and not so good.  For instance:

We’ve been taking care of my husband’s elderly parents for the past 5 years.  Things progressed as they do and now both of them are in a nursing home, freeing us up to pick up the threads of our lives.  On the way to that freedom was a whole lot of misery and suffering including a very close call when his cousins decided to take over and evict us from my husband’s home. We almost were homeless, but the angels smiled and his disability came through allowing us to find a new place to live and purchase vehicles that actually run on a regular basis.

My husband has been waiting for approval for disability for almost a year.  He has advanced arthritis in knees, back and hip and it’s made it increasingly difficult to do the tiedye that has paid our way for the last 5 years while taking care of his folks.  Getting approved and the retroactive check has taken the strain off of us to still work through the pain and the frustration and has allowed us to find the fun in working with kids (of all ages) again.

At my age and with my own arthritic hands, going back to being a secretary is not really a viable option. I looked and prayed for a way to use my skills and create a career.  I have never been at a loss for words, so I’m taking that skill, my experiences and now I’m doing business coaching and motivational speaking (see my other site, www.deborahbeatty.com ) as well as exhibiting as an artist.

We’ve rearranged our business strategies and are heading in a new, more positive direction.  We’ve rediscovered the passion that we had for each other and for our selected paths, and we’ve taken a hard look at what we want our careers to do for us and for others.  This is why we’ve created DreamSpace Arts and TieDye Across America.  Both of these two endeavors are to bring joy and renewal of individual spirit to each person we touch. 

We’ve both experienced what it feels like to not have the things we do today and we know the overwhelming sadness and frustration of living in that world. 

THERE ARE MIRACLES IN THE WORLD.  If you know that, hold it dear, embrace it, embroider it on a pillow or whatever it takes to remember it, you’ll never be completely lost.  Give thanks for the tiny things. It opens up a bright spot for the bigger things to appear.

Dream on

db