Saturday, June 18, 2016

Stepping out of my bubble

Tomorrow I am travelling to Indiana to attend my very first polymer clay retreat. I've been playing with clay for a little over 15 years (some years a little less, some years a little more) and I finally signed up, took the plunge, sent my money, hoping that the stars would align and nothing would pop up to prevent it! I am excited. And a little nervous.

I'm excited! I get to meet some of the people I've met along the way on the internet! Polymer Clay Daily's Cynthia Tinapple is going to be there to teach us, and that is very cool. Ponsawan Sila is going to be teaching and I'll be sharing a room with her.

I'm excited! I will be driving 3 1/2 hours by myself, so I will listen to music, maybe some podcasts, maybe just have quiet and watch the flat landscape of Illinois and Indiana as it flies by my windows.

I'm a little nervous, too. I have become a bit of a hermit. I've been a caregiver for my mom and dad, and then just my dad, for about 8 years. The friends I made while my kids were growing have taken other paths, and I have not spent much time nurturing the friends that remain in my circle; I don't have very much energy. So now I'm jumping into a group of other people who are strangers, physically, even though I've seen their facebook posts and had online conversations.

I'm a little nervous because one of the attendees is a person who chose to block me on facebook. That should be interesting. I said something several years ago on a facebook group we both were part of that she found insulting, and poof! I could no longer see her posts. Anywhere on facebook. The only time I noticed was when she participated in a conversation in one of our shared groups and someone else responded to her invisible text. Very strange.


I am probably packing too much. I plan on packing my hearts for charity in hopes that someone will be interested in buying one. Currently the money is going to a facebook polymer clay buddy whose family is in a bind because her husband has cancer and lost his job. My goal is to get to $300, and then I will choose another goal for another charity. So far we have gone to $200, and I know they can use $100 more for groceries.

So off to bed I go, to sleep I hope and wake up refreshed and ready to travel! Wish me luck!

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