Give It Purpose!

In my past life working as a nanny, I used to feel awful when a child would get a scraped knee in my care. I would always tell my employer about any “war wounds” that our adventures may have left on their little ones, so that they could ensure proper care. After one of these discussions regarding a cut on someone’s knee, one of the parents simply said “in all honesty, if you don’t have any cuts and scrapes, you aren’t truly living”.

This stuck with me, maybe because I read deeper into it than they had intended, but it can be applied to so many areas in our lives, and it was a piece of advice I needed to hear. I am the ever-cautious conscientious worry and anxiety toting momma bear when it comes to my loved ones, and when it comes to basically every area of my life. Some of this, I have come to accept as part of who I am, other bits I view as something unhealthy and I am working on it. All in all, this advice I have taken as gospel.

I went camping recently with my husband to celebrate our three year anniversary. We have always loved camping, and it was the perfect way to celebrate together. This particular trip, we stopped at a beautiful little vintage shop in Black Diamond, Alberta called “Banjolena’s Closet”, which is located in Bertie’s General Store- a landmark in the community of Black Diamond. After looking through the gorgeous curated selection of vintage and secondhand, I found an absolutely stunning pink satin vintage slip from 1940s or 50s. It had a small hole on one side, and a loose seam in the back, which Jolene promptly pointed out before I purchased. I told her I was happy to repair it, and that it was love at first sight. My first thought upon leaving the shop, was to save this special piece for a non-camping special occasion. Protect it and keep it from the scent of campfire (which I love by the way), keep it from sooty hands, or tears on trees….but then I heard that advice again, “…if you don’t have any cuts and scrapes, you aren’t truly living” …and I thought, “for so long, I have been saving special pieces I found over the years, protecting them from getting torn, scented, stained or whatever other hazards might befall them”. Most of the pieces hanging in my closet, have been collected secondhand over many years. Some of them are pristine, but many of them have seen some things. But, the pieces that just hang there, without being worn, without being shown off or utilized….they go without purpose.

So, I have decided, that when I have a day off (I work in scrubs at my other job), I will wear only the special pieces. By special, I certainly don’t mean formal, or perfect, or brand spanking new- because you’d be hard pressed to find any of these things in my closet. What I mean is a piece that I am so in love with, I want to protect it from the world because if something were to happen to it, I might cry…for several days. So that is my commitment…if I have a day off, and I’m working in my studio, or out running errands, or I have a meeting, I will dress up in my prized pieces, because it’s up to me to give it purpose!

And that pink satin slip I mentioned earlier? I wandered out of our pop-up trailer on Monday morning- sleep still in my eyes, big wool socks in my Birks, and I proudly marched into the woods and popped a squat (in that pink satin slip) to relieve my bladder of Sunday evening’s red wine.