Brave

Flying Boy Blessings, or Brave Boy
felt, thread, embroidery floss, fiberfill

One for the girl, one for the boy. They made their requests. I filled their requests.

The requests might change tomorrow.

It's all about moving and changing and adapting and fitting things together so they work.

Maybe that's how I'm going about making these flying blessings. I'm just playing. Poking my fingers with needles and shouting at stuffing that won't go in or knots that happen in innocent thread, but still, just playing.

Sometimes, here's a confession, I get bored of these suckers. Just like I get bored of the paintings, or the cooking, or the potty training, or the list making. Sometimes I wonder what's the point, because, you know what? My kid is still wearing diapers. Or whatever. I mean, things all seem to still be the same as before, so why keep trying to change things or do things over again, perfect them, make something work?
(reverse) please note the felt pennants on the string. I like them.

Oh. Fudge.

Change happens in increments, right?

You have to take the small steps before you take the big leaps. You have to get there before you are there, right?

Do you have to be brave, also? To keep putting all that energy into something that doesn't seem to be getting you where you want to go? Do you have to have faith that what you are doing will take you there, no matter what other people think?

Brave boy tells me sometimes it is brave just to live your life and not apologize for who you are.

Let me tell you, this post started out with a lot of whining, and I had to erase it all...well, most of it. I wondered what the heck it was doing in a post about Brave blessings.

But I just realized. Brave is not being unafraid. It is continuing on in your path, even though you ARE afraid.

So me and my (now deleted) whining was all about fear. Am I wasting my time? Should I choose another path? Is any of this going to work out? Am I ever going to get where I want to go?

Fear. Fear that I'm doing the wrong thing, made the wrong choices, am somehow just wrong all around.

Fear is normal. Fear can be valuable. Fear can point us in the direction we really need to go. Fear can make us take care of things that must be taken care of. Fear can keep us from being hurt.

But it's bravery that helps us to use fear as a tool for reaching our dreams. It's bravery that makes us fight until we are strong enough to stand up to all those fears and succeed.

So, to my Brave Boy, and to all my Brave Readers out there, I wish you good fears, fears that spur you on to find your own inner bravery, your own strength and determination, so that you may go for your dreams.

As scary as that may be.