Operation Nanna: Donation Time!

Hey there Nanna-Enthusiasts!

Finally, I've found some organisational skills, given them a good dusting and set a date for the first donation gathering!

We're going to be at the Wodonga Plant Farm  on Saturday 1st June 2013 from 3:00 P.M. to 4:00 P.M.

Bring along your latest projects, grab a latte and say hello! I can't wait to see how much we have put together to donate to those who need it this cold winter through the Carevan Foundation.

I will also have some yarn with me that was generously donated for those whose stash is looking a little sad.

Until then, happy crafting!

Adulting (Don't Do It)

Once upon a time (read: when I was sixteen), I was so eager to grow up. I wanted to be trusted to make my own decisions, to go where I wanted and do what I wanted without being accountable to anyone. I wanted to get out of my hometown and live on my own. To have a successful career, to travel, to meet new people and try new things and just be whatever I wanted.
The whole idea of being an adult simply oozed freedom.

Well. How wrong was I.

Here I am, seven years later, avoiding all of the things I still have to do today and writing a blog post over a bowl of soup. Boo is having her 'rest time', watching "Despicable Me" so that will give me another forty-five minutes or so of clear (read: child-free) brain time. I have placement things to do, housewife things to do, and project things to do; each time I cross one off my list, another seems to write itself just underneath.

I could, in fact, do nothing. I could drink tea and crochet hats until the cows come home (so to speak. No, husband, I do not mean you). But there are consequences.

See, that is where life gets you. As a youth, you don't really get the idea that one day there will be consequences that actually exist in the real world. Not like 'if you don't clean your room I'm going to do it for you (which means going through your stuff)'. Or 'doing badly in this exam means you'll get a bad score for uni offers (which, despite what we keep telling you, will not in fact ruin the rest of your life)'.

Oh no. In the adult world, there are actual consequences. Like, if you don't pay your rent, you will not have accommodation. Or, if you don't actively work towards getting a career by studying or applying for jobs, you won't actually get one. Or, if you don't do the dishes or the laundry, you and your family will be naked and hungry.

Being an adult is not this carefree, latte-sipping, traveling-pants-wearing, dream-job-having, free-spirit living in a perfect world I'd imagined. No. It's an exhausted, cranky, stretched-too-thin creature who is driven by fear of being naked and hungry.

The moral of this ramble, dear friends, is this: don't start being an adult - because once you do, there is no stopping. Just don't do it.

Failure [a reflection]

I have no problem with learning from mistakes - as someone just out of adolescence, I have a full and thorough understanding of how to avoid making the same one twice.

But failure - that's another story.

Last week I had one of those heart-shattering experiences. One that makes you doubt what you're doing, why you're doing it, and whether you're actually cut out for it. I'm not going to go into the details, but it was for placement and my first real attempt at executing something I had planned on my own.

On paper,my plans looked great. Well thought out and carefully planned.

In practice, I bombed out spectacularly.

Prior to this, I had been living in a safe little cocoon, one where I knew my strengths and weaknesses, my skills and abilities - and never strayed from them. I plan until things all work out beautifully hypothetically, and then I plan some more, just in case. Over the past twelve months I have been doing a lot of personal development in this area, through my study, placements and during the Wodonga City Council's Youth Leadership Program. I had learnt to trust my gut, felt my own ideas had credit, and was just starting to ease myself out of my comfort zone.

On that day last week, I wanted to shut myself away in study and housewife land where it was safe and never, ever venture out again. 

I was mad at myself for putting myself out there, to just fall flat on my face. I was upset that I didn't perform at the standard I had expected myself too. I was anxious at the idea of having to return and try again. I feared all of that hard work I had put in over the past twelve months had been unraveled and wasted. 

It's been almost a week, and I've had a lot of time to reflect. 

I'm actually now thankful for the experience. I have already learnt to tackle this thing I plan from a different angle, and to have contingencies. Sure, I'm beyond anxious about returning again soon, but I'm building resilience by doing so.  

And really, if that's how bad failure (in this context, I'm sure there's a lot worse out there) feels, then hey, I can handle it.

I started thinking about the people I admire and what they have achieved. I'm sure they had many set-backs and I doubt they were perfect on their first day.

Someone at Leadership last year actually said to me "don't be afraid of failure". I'm really thankful for that simple piece of advice, a seed really, that was planted back then.

So this experience has turned into something that symbolises other parts of my life. Time to put myself back out there, I have a lot more to give.

Update: Operation Nanna

First of all, let me clear up one small misunderstanding from the previous post:

When I said I was crocheting blankets and would love people to join me, I didn't specifically mean you had to learn to crochet! If you already know how to knit or have other handy skills and would like to help out - that's fantastic! However, if you would like to challenge yourself in learning something new, by all means go for it! 

Now, the good stuff.

I have been in contact with the lovely people at the Carevan Foundation and they would love to take donations. I asked what other things would be handy for them and they suggested scarves, gloves and beanies. So if you have limited time or yarn - there's a perfect project for you! 

If you're feeling particularly creative, they would also love knitted or sewn bears, bunnies, etc. to go in hampers at Christmas time.

At this point in time I would simply love to be challenged and see how much I can get together by the end of the month. If you're interested in helping out, please have a chat to me. And make sure you check out the Carevan Foundations website and have a look at their good work, particularly their programs.

Have a beautiful day. xx