What do all of these journals, notebooks and tablets have in common? Go ahead, look closely.
Look at these beauties! They represent years of dedicated shopping and hoarding.
Every one of them is too nice/cute to use. Yes, that’s right – I have a paper hoarding problem. Well, in honesty, it’s not just paper. It’s office supplies in general. It may be partly genetic in that my mom had a ton of tablets, too.
The situation reminds me of the new-fangled advice that you should actually use the good china rather than leaving it on display in a china cabinet to waste its best years wishing to be part of everyday family life. But, come on, should I use up my inspirational “Dream Big” tablet on dreams that are medium-sized, at best? Seems like a waste.
To be even more honest, it isn’t just paper and office supplies, either. *sigh*
“Please paint on us…even if you suck.”
I also have a bunch of canvases and different kinds of art paper that deserve a much better end in life than whatever crappy art I’m going to put on them. Follow that up with another sigh, a forceful crumple, if possible, and being thrown in the trash. My beautiful art supplies deserve so much better than my terrible painting skills!
I’m guessing I’m not the only one who has this problem or something similar. Do you have a beautiful quilt in the closet because you don’t want it getting snagged? Pretty furniture in the room where no one sits so it doesn’t get stained? That bottle of wine that’s been too fancy for any occasion so far?
“Aren’t you glad she got this lovely quilt out of the closet?” “Yes, I quite enjoy licking my butt on it.”
Let’s make a pact. We’re not doing this anymore. We’re not falling into the trap of waiting for everything to be perfect. If I died tomorrow, I’d rather have made a hundred pieces of art and gotten a few gems out of the group than have my family get rid of all my art supplies.
Are you in? Drink the wine! Sit on the good furniture! Snuggle up under your beautiful quilt! And when I get some decent art out of my supplies, I’ll share it with you. And I hope you’ll share your stories with me, too. Drop me a comment. I’d love to hear from you. 🙂
