Holiday Spirit

Ever since Thanksgiving I have suffered from a slight low-grade bad mood.  I figured it was because I have been just the tiniest bit overworked with the extra holiday parties to cater.  Just a touch of tiredness and feeling overwhelmed.

But the feeling persisted in spite of anticipating the holiday break.  I finally decided enough was enough and I pulled this bad mood out of the dark and shone the bright light of day on it.  I realized that what I was feeling was dread.

Now I have a full-time job that while doesn't pay as much as I would like, pays enough for me to keep the bills paid, oxygen in my tank, food on the table and the numerous pets fed.  As I continued to scrutinize my bad feelings, I realized they were from the past.  In past years, I did not have a full time job.  I did not make enough money and both money and time seemed to be in scarce supply.  There were times when food wasn't as plentiful as I would have preferred.

This year, not only do I have a holiday break, but I have worked long enough to accrue vacation pay.  So, for the first time, I will have a paid holiday.  I just received an order of glass to keep me occupied.  My house is already fairly tidy after this morning's whirlwind cleaning session.  And I can go buy whatever I want to prepare in the way of special holiday meals.

I am glad that I took the time to decipher my bad feelings.  I am now looking forward to the Christmas break with anticipation, gratitude, and the realization that I will have plenty of time to accomplish all that I want to do.

Gallery

This year I had the opportunity to place my glass in a small, local pop-up gallery.  This turned out to be a learning experience.

The gallery was located in our small town and was open only on the weekend.  Each artist was to volunteer to man the gallery at least once  month.

Our traffic was very limited.  I discovered quickly that I did not enjoy sitting in an empty gallery even with something to do.  I find boredom to be exhausting.

The greatest difficulty I discovered was that after watching people come through and appear to be underwhelmed by what I had chosen to display I began to doubt myself.  Even accounting for different styles it was still disappointing to see people unimpressed.

I think that, in the future, should I have the opportunity to display in  gallery, I will choose one where I can maintain a certain distance.