Gratitude: A year's worth...

Such a better day today. So.

The medicine has done it's job and although Pumpkin is still crying some, we left the screaming and serious pain behind.

She even slept through the night.

Awesome.

Cause I needed my strength for Black Friday Shopping.

At one place.

Really, I don't need anything being sold in retail stores. And what I do need, I feel certain I can buy on sale again on a random Wednesday before Christmas. But the fabric store was calling my name.

I decided Thursday I would just wake up when Pumpkin woke up and get ready to go. Not doing the standing in line thing at five in the morning. Don't get me wrong. I've stood in line. Rolled out of bed at 4:00 am to get to the mall. Just not doing that this year.

So I followed my plan and got to the fabric store around 8:30 am. The first thing I always do is get a number. They call you with the whole "Now serving number..." system. Even on a lunch break, I can wait a full 45 minutes. I assumed today would be worse.

When I pulled my number, they were on 97. I was 18. It rolls back over at 100. I watched as it took 45 minutes to serve numbers 97, 98, 99, 100, 00 and 1.

And there were five ladies cutting fabric.

Women were buying multiple carts full of fabric. Some were buying multiple carts full of entire bolts of fabric. One lady I saw had to have spent $400 alone.

Since women had been in the store a full two and a half hours before I got there, I had to sort of be a scavenger. I went to the fabric aisle I needed. Found the few I wanted and then proceeded to follow the guy restocking the aisle with the discarded bolts from the cutting tables. Took me probably a full hour to see all the available fabric patterns. In the end, I got 12 different patterns.

Which, of course, all coordinate.

Finally, after about 90 minutes of wandering the store aimlessly knowing full well I had neither the money nor the inclination to purchase anything but the fabric I came for, I stopped next to another group of ladies standing around waiting their turn.

We got to know each other well. I know all about their projects. They know about mine. Bonding over fabric.

Two hours after I had entered the store, I was checking out with the most fabulous fabric. All for about a fourth of what I would have paid, well, tomorrow. But I now have enough fabric for more onesies, tee-shirts and Pinterest craft projects for the entire year.

Which makes me one very happy momma.

It seems silly. Really. But what a blessing to be able to have a hobby.

I know I take for granted the opportunity to "play". To use our creativity. God is pretty creative. He created us.

And a moose.

Really, that is some seriously creativity.

Thus we are creative as His creation. Some more than others. Some have more time to pursue it than others. I am extremely grateful to have a little one to create for, a husband who supports the hobby and the means to do so.

Thank you Lord for our little life and a whole lot of cheap fabric.