It was all planned out. Since the beginning of the year, in a color-coded Gantt Chart on big 100yen calendar pages taped to my studio walls. Big ideas broken down to easy bite-sized steps to completion.
There were pinky swears & check-in promises.
Of course, you’re laughing, you know where this is going. You’re right, I’m completly off track!
We’ve all been there, that smooth road ahead suddenly curves in an unexpected direction and we find ourselves riding a screaming fast roller coaster!
In late June, my husband earned a spot to compete in a World Championship Race!!!
.
.
In SOUTH AFRICA!!!!!!
Bucket List Trip!
Coming up quick in only 6 weeks time, this needed a lot of planning, reservations, and smart packing. Neat, organized lists were quickly made. Adding to the difficulty of coordinating this trip is he already had another race in the US only 1 week before the World Championship competition! He needed to attend that race as other family members were competing together, along with his coach, who is not local to us in Japan. So this was really a big, planned family get-together, in a great vacation spot w/a rented family home to house all of the crazy racers and us supporters.
I had no plans to attend the initial race in the US but he really wanted me to and especially to help him & all his equipment get to South Africa. So as I’m booking flights and booking places to stay I am still looking at my colorful calendar mulling over how can I re-arrange my work so my art life can still move forward.
For one show I went with a secondary idea that I could have the final product printed and shipped to it’s destination instead of completing the original beautifully crafted sculpture idea. The idea is still viable for other shows. Nor was I able to complete the second sculpture in the series for another show.
I am so very, very disappointed I have not been able to do the wirework sculptures I know will feed that unique part of my creative soul. The complications of going through the multitudes of international airports worrying it would get damaged or lost just wasn’t worth pushing through on this aspect of my schedule. I crossed it off =( Both pieces I had started were set aside.
Super excited that when I booked the flights, it checked a Bucket List item of a Round-the-World Trip!! Not the relaxing, retiree-style travelling as I had originally envisioned, but amazing nonetheless!
Literally, the very next day after booking all of the airline tickets, I received a call from a family member that I needed to return to the US to help after they got out of the hospital. Luckily it was minor concerns and all is well, but it added two weeks onto the front of the already surprise World Tour. So that left only 4 weeks before I needed to leave.
I had almost 4 months worth of work plans I wanted to edit, organize, complete, and pack before my trip. Pushing past my disappointment and focusing on the elephants awaiting my arrival, I meticulously re-worked my custom fabric orders, strategically packed certain embroidery works, thread colors, and that one special knitting project I pinky swore I would complete this year.
By the end of the trip I could feel my bag weighted down with multi-country coinage.
Add in epic jet lag brain and I am full.
My heart is full.
My soul is full.
Full of amazement.
Full of wonder.
South Africa is an amazing country full of layers; beautiful people, delicious food, and epic wildlife.
South Africa knew what my soul needed before I realized there was anything missing!
Thank You, South Africa!!
Less than 48 hours after landing back home in Japan, I’m was at a beautiful sayonara lunch in Omotesando, devastated an amazing friend is moving to Europe.
I’m tired, but
I can get back on track, right?
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