Lesson Two: I Did it Anyway
I hope you all had a great week. THANK YOU so much for all the kind words of Encouragement from last week’s Lesson. If you have followed me awhile you know I am ALWAYS REAL and these next 54 Lessons will be just that! They won’t always be so heavy, but I will ALWAYS show up as my Authentic Self in order to share my Story + hopefully help YOU in some small way. Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to read my words.
“If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.
”
This is the Lesson about how I Did it ANYWAY. This part of my Story was during one of the most DIFFICULT times in my life. You will be hearing LOTS of Stories from this time as I learned the most Lessons.
I was just really finding my place in the art journaling/mixed-media world. I had taken several on-line classes, tried many new techniques + met so many AMAZING people along the way. One artist in particular really stood out to me….Sherri Welser. Not only did her art inspire me but her infectious smile made me feel like I already knew her.
In January of 2014 she made a call out to artists. She needed a teacher for her second annual ArtBeach Retreat in Folly Beach, South Carolina. The MINUTE I read this I KNEW that is where I longed to be…on the beach, teaching my art + meeting new friends. Oh how I wanted to GO!
BUT….
There is ALWAYS a But, isn’t there?
BUT…I reminded myself.
THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO WAY YOU CAN GO.
NONE!
ZIP!
ZERO!
You see our family was in dire straights. We had nearly lost our home a few years before and our income was VERY SHAKY. Our debt had spiraled out of control + and we had ZERO wiggle room. Extra things were just not possible.
My Heart didn’t care. I reached out to Sherri the minute I read the post, sharing a few ideas for classes I had. I had never wanted anything so bad! I just KNEW this art trip was EXACTLY what would help get me out of a rut and love my life again.
To my SURPRISE, Sherri said YES. She loved my work and invited me to TEACH ART at her retreat. I was OVER THE MOON! I mean DELIRIOUSLY HAPPY!
It was short lived, however….I already knew what my husband would say…we didn’t have the money.
I was getting so sick of hearing that.
I explained my situation to Sherri, crying as I typed my message. There was just not any way I could make it work. I thanked her for believing in me (something I hadn’t felt in a long time) pushed send and went about my day.
To my SHOCK, her response wasn’t anything I was expecting.
“Oh, you’ve misunderstood, Leslie. The retreat is paid for. All you need to do is get here.”
Aw, my HEART had HOPE again! I went to Dave, shared Sherri’s words with him and to my surprise he responded…
“Babe, we will make it work.”
And we did!
And I went!
See that HAPPY girl up there? Oh my oh MY….how JOYOUS I was at that moment. Joy was something I had not FELT in YEARS. Our big, giant mess of a life began in 2012 and it just kept on going and going and going. There wasn’t an end in sight anytime soon. Misery had made it’s home in my SOUL. Truly, I was a wreck. My parenting sucked, my wife skills were nill, I rarely saw friends. I was just one big ball of PAIN. I couldn’t believe my life looked the way it did. The ONLY escape I had had was creating art and sharing my love of art. My blog had been up for several years and I was teaching at a local art studio. ART SAVED ME.
No question.
So here I was on a plane to Folly Beach, South Carolina, not knowing anyone. It was EXHILARATING + a bit terrifying all at the same time.
That sweet lady you see below is Lucinda. We had made arrangements prior to the retreat for her to pick me up at the airport. She lived in the area and was more than happy to oblige. This woman right here was a TREASURE! I learned so much from her! Lucinda was a feisty, spunky, ornery, Southern woman who KNEW what she wanted out of life. She NEVER took No for an answer + she NEVER let anyone or anything stop her.
“Go out into the world today and love the people you meet.
Let your presence light new light in the hearts of others.” – Mother Teresa
Lucinda made the most BEAUTIFUL cuffs. So original. I had never seen anything like them. I remember gushing over them but then feeling so bad because I knew I couldn’t afford one. It was like she read my mind. Her eyes twinkled as she told me to pick one. I did and still wear today.
The entire retreat the only thing she ever did was lift me up. Everyday she would smile with those twinkly eyes, telling me how cute I was. She loved my art and my classes. She just was so full of LOVE.
Sadly, this dear friends passed away a few years ago. She had a bad Heart and knew she was living on borrowed time.
I miss her.
Oh, this photo…brings back so many FUN memories. That’s Shining, Sparkling Sherri on the left and Beautiful Heart Denise on the right. Sherri had such lovely nights planned for us during the retreat. This night we went to Rita’s Seaside Grille. It was DELICIOUS. My Heart was so FULL of Gratitude throughout my time on Folly Beach. I was living a dream.
I am TEACHING!!!
At first I was so nervous. What would these people think of me? My art? My ideas? It was incredibly daunting, but soon I felt at HOME with these women. I was finding my TRIBE…a term I knew nothing about. What was a Tribe? All I had been thinking about for YEARS was paying our bills, making sure we could eat and trying to keep up appearances. Yes, I did that. For YEARS. It’s another Story for another day. I had never give a thought to having a Tribe. But here I was, finding MINE.
Being at this retreat allowed me to FORGET all the chaos going on at home. I know the Lord gifted me this precious time.
“We don’t meet people by accident. They are meant to cross our path for a reason.” – Unknown
Look at us! A table full of AMAZING women. Each one of us had our own Dreams + Truths + Ideas and we ALL shared them with one another. NO judgement. Just sharing and supporting and CARING about each other. In my adult life, this was the first time I had felt so SAFE with a group of women.
Folly Beach
This was our view the entire retreat!
Folly Beach
The Beach at sunset was breathtaking. There is nothing so soothing as a long walk on the beach, sand in your toes, the sound of the Ocean. It was the Peace I needed.
Perhaps the most PRECIOUS thing I found at ArtBeach Retreat was a sister I never knew I had.
Meet Sandy from Australia. ( I know you’re thinking of the movie Grease right now!) This AMAZING, FUNNY, KIND + GENEROUS Soul has become my dearest, most treasured friend. I call her my Sister Friend. I never had a sister or a brother. Just me. And while I have good, good friends….there is just something so very SPECIAL about this one. If I had to describe our friendship I think it looks a lot like Thelma + Louise. I am Thelma (Geena Davis) and Sandy is Louise (Susan Sarandon).
Going into Folly Beach I was the most alone I had ever felt. Life just plain SUCKED. But, as I mentioned, I had been keeping up appearances for so long. Living an almost fake life.
Meeting Sandy was so unexpected. We just clicked. Our art is very similar, she has a boy and a girl like me and is married to the love of her life. And while we never got down to the nitty gritty of our lives, we just enjoyed one another.
“A friend may be waiting behind a stranger’s face.” ― Maya Angelou, Letter to My Daughter
I remember taking this photo on our last day. I had a BIG lump in my throat. Sandy lived all the way in Queensland, Australia…I really thought this would be our only time together. But gratefully it wasn’t. In fact what I didn’t know this day on the Beach was there were MANY more adventures to come! But that, friends, is for another day.
Teaching at ArtBeach created a level of confidence in me I had forgotten about. This was what I was meant for and I KNEW. I didn’t want this to be the only time and thankfully it wasn’t! Sherri invited me back the next year where I met THIS Sherry.
We quickly became friends and have since taught an on-line class together (Them Empowered Creative Woman) as well as been there for each other during so really hard moments. I am so GRATEFUL for her!!!
“You can’t stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.” ― A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh
Two years before I “Did it Anyway” and went to Folly Beach, I could have never imagined little old me, teaching at an art retreat. Meeting people…my TRIBE…from all over the world and learning I AM a Brave Girl. I had become so focused on what was WRONG in my life, I couldn’t see ANYTHING ELSE.
My Big Lesson with this part of my Story is what if I HADN’T done it anyway? What if I HADN’T reached out to Sherri, shared my art ideas, been too scared to tell Dave, been too scared to fly a thousand miles away not knowing anyone? What if I hadn’t taken the risk?
I would have never known the JOY in spending a week with Beautiful Souls who shared my love of art and creating. I would have never known my Soul Sister, Sandy. Would have never been on all of our travels or FELT the TRUE MEANING OF FRIENDSHIP (another story!) I would have never been inspired to live my life with gusto and on my terms from Lucinda. I would have never had three friends from Rock Springs, Wyoming. (another fun story!) I would have never gotten out of my own way. I was drowning MYSELF. Instead of trying to get our of our MUCK it was so much easier to just stay wallowing in it.
Sherri’s call on Facebook became my life line. But it was ME, who had to say YES to it. I had to answer the call.
Friends, in life, I know it can get so hard + overwhelming. Think about where you are now or maybe there is a time from your past…have you been given a life line? Have you answered or did you answer it? What was it? Did you or do you recognize it? What about your tribe? Do you have one? Do you know what one is? Where can you go to find one?
Friends, I APPRECIATE you all so much! Thank you for being here. For Encouraging me to write, create + just Be.
xoxo,
Leslie
