Love

I've been doing some custom work of late, mostly larger bags and guitar straps.

It's been so gratifying and though I have to turn down a lot of projects when the list gets too long,

I am blessed with incredibly patient patrons who wait long and well for what they requested.

My work is so deliberate and my hours of doing so are so holy and well-refilling.

I have the task ahead of me and I know the path so well, my beloved leathercraft.

The butter-pull of the knife.

The vibration of the hammer: I know how it will sound on every inch of my 

marble slab.

The wash of color 

the life it gives me

that sustains me

.

In six months it will be eight years since SunnyRising became an Etsy shop.

It's been run on love and faith and sometimes on fumes.

Everything runs on fumes lately unless it's done before noon,

but that's just motherhood very naturally taking center stage.

I've been thinking ahead to when Orion is in school, realizing how much more

I'll be giving to my work, dreaming about what a bigger studio will look like,

drafting sketches of where things will go.

It's intoxicating, honestly giddy-making stuff!

He starts preschool in a week - the unfathomable steps into grown-up O are happening.

It's terrifying.

It's liberating.

Until those times are upon us I steal time

during naps

and after bedtime

and when the babysitter is here

to craft mine and other people's wishes

into something physical and lasting

that they can pass on to whomever they choose

.

Orion is nearly potty trained.

Anthony is nearly at content lock for the game he ships in November.

I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and it is amber-glorious.

On the days when it's good and maybe even especially on the days when it's uphill

I pause and feel the blood coursing through my strong capable body

and I rest in mystery

oblivious to the why of our earthly presence

but grateful for these days

of furtive craftsmanship

and drought sunsets

of chin-kisses

and emotional bursts

they will none of them come again

.

xoxo,

Sunny