Today I’m excited to have my friend Dana guest post.  Dana and I were in the 3rd grade together–after high school graduation we lost track for a while and found each other at our 21st class reunion (I know most people have 20 year reunions but . . . ).  Then several more years pasted and we connected on Facebook.  Dana blessed my life when I was 8 and when I’m . . . 40ishalmost8 . . . not.ready.for.fifty–can’t go there!  Dana has had an amazingly interesting life and she is raising future Olympiads–but she doesn’t tell us any of that today.

So without hesitation I welcome Dana to Joyful Mom!

Dana Delaney is a slightly-crunchy-granola Christian lady who is also the mom to 3 kids and wife to a very supportive husband. While a classic rule follower, she gets a secret thrill out of breaking rules of tradition – like not all kids following the same educational path, or wearing flip-flops in January. You can read more about Dana’s crunchy granola side at her website, carryitagain.com.

I had an Ahh hah moment today.

A little background: We are a blended family, purely from an educational choice standpoint. Our youngest goes to public school and is in the 2nd grade. We chose to bring our two oldest home 4 years ago, when they were entering the 8th and 9th grade. Our reasons for beginning homeschooling are far different than those for continuing. I’ll save that for another post.

Way back in January of 2009, I started a company called Reused Plastic, LLC. I worked diligently creating my product, the Carry It Again Bag Kit. Then, we started homeschooling our boys and they starting rowing on the local crew team.

I joined the Board of Directors. In the process of having laser focus on my boys and their lives on and off the water, my own creative endeavors got sidelined. I just figured it wasn’t “my season”. During all of the past 3 years, and the current school year as well, we’ve struggled to find our groove with curriculum and course dedication (on the boys’ part). Each year has been a different path. Better than the year before, but still different. (I see another post on this topic as well.)

Here’s where my ahh hah moment comes in.

I got an email back in October of 2012, in my business email box. I randomly checked that email a week ago, only to be shocked (and a little mortified) to discover an email from someone I had met at a business workshop several years ago. She wants to sell my kits in her new retail store. Very cool news, to put it mildly.

I drove a total of 365 miles today (round trip) to go see her and take the cases of kits and help her with setting up and merchandising and such. What started out as a sales call and my assisting her, turned into me being the recipient of so much more!

I came away from her shop just dying to create something! I wanted to write, to paint, to decoupage something, anything. That’s when it hit me.

That’s what’s been missing from our home schooling program – my own creative energy.

As moms we so often put our families first and ourselves a distant last, if at all. What I realized today is that I have so much more to give when I’m filled with what excites ME. I fully expect that the remainder of this school year, and next year will be so much easier and have less stress – as long as I remember to keep my creative bucket filled.

Be Blessed.

What is in your creative bucket?  Have you had a moment when you realized something in your life was missing?

Dana