On New Year’s Day at 9am I broke my arm and after the initial ouch and panic the reality started to set in. Ohhh no, I can’t drive, I will need time off work… which means I’ll lose income, can’t get dressed, can’t cook, clean or iron (hooray)… the list was never ending. But after a short while I accepted this brief and new normality realising that fortunately it would pass very quickly.
I had been fretting over my website for months, changing the content every five minutes and literally procrastinating and putting off the launch. I had a mini photographic session organised for the beginning of January, so in my first few days of panic I cancelled it and set the date for mid February. Then thinking again I reorganised it immediately, after all it is so easy to hide a small plaster. Then I realised that obviously I could work at my computer, ironing no, but typing and drawing yes. So then suddenly I had all the time I needed to finish my website and do lots of artwork.
My shiny new website is up and working with just a few holes to fill in. Breaking my arm was a momentary limbo which allowed me change my mindset and get things back into perspective. I focused on the positive aspects of having a plaster: no ironing or washing pots; I get to wear my favourite boots everyday for 5 weeks (changing my socks regularly of course!) because laces and zippers are a no go; it was my left arm so working at my computer was still ok; I finally had the time to get my website up and running and, I found a brand new material on which to mock-up one of my patterns.
Very soon life will be back to normal, I hope though that all the things I prioritised before will be rearranged in a calmer and more relaxing way. No need to stress over every tiny detail in my daily routine. I wouldn’t recommend breaking your arm to get your life back into perspective but if you do, it’s a sure way to slow down and temporarily change your mindset.
Dawn x