On Love...

Tonight I speak of love. It is a love so strong and more importantly so appreciated I simply had to blog about it. You may think it is my love of candles. Spicy aromas of cinnamon and clove wafting up from my studio, filling the house with holiday feelings months before the holidays are actually here. Or how I fill with joy when unmolding candles made of palm wax, seeing the wonderful feathered patterns that look like Jack Frost kissed their surfaces. You may also think I’m filled with love for this most productive season of sales for me. After all, it’s candle-burning season, and gift-giving season. I have a little something for everyone, from magnets to note cards, from match stick holders to candle platters. From cute bottle cap magnets to sultry and suggestive pulp fiction magnets. Tis the season of gift-giving, and I make the gifts you want to give. Yes, I love sales and I love candles and I love everything I make.

But sales and creative production are also a cause of stress. A good stress, but stress none the less. I’ve got shows to do, boutiques and stores to stock, custom orders to fill. Although the stress springs from positive things, it is manifested by stiff muscles, pinched nerves, and fatigue, just like bad stress. Today I’ve been experiencing all of those symptoms.

This evening Husby told me to relax. He told me to just sit and do something not production-related. He told me it’s okay to take a night off once in a while, even in the midst of the chaotic season that is now. Watch some TV, he said. Read a magazine. Instead of drinking caffeinated pop, have a Mike’s Hard Lemonade. Relax, even if it’s just for tonight.

So here I sit reclined on the couch, watching my favorite sit-coms (upbeat and no thinking required). I’ve got a Mike’s three-quarters gone and another one chilling in the refrigerator. I’m filled with gratitude and love for a man who puts up with my long hours and neglect of household duties, a man who reassures me when I doubt myself. Anyone in the business of arts and/or crafts should be as lucky as me to have a husband who supports even the most obscure and unlikely dreams. Tonight I’m kicking back thanks to a guy who wants me to just chill out, relax my muscles, divert my thinking if only for a few hours. And I can’t tell you how weird, and wonderful, it is to feel that hard lemonade weak-in-the-knees feeling on a Monday night. Thanks for looking out for me, Husby. Love you.