Wreaths

It’s kind of crazy to think about what life was like when we only had two kids, I was staying home, and every day was a financial struggle. Those were the years that really formed the foundation of my domestic abilities. When there is a need, you buckle down and figure out how to do it.

My mom was very creative raising us. We went through some really difficult times, but I never really understood the depths of the difficulty until I had my own kids. My siblings and I were always told enough to keep us safe or to just know what was happening in our world, but seriously, I have no idea how we survived. Other than an extremely creative mother, and an extremely loving and supportive community of people that my parents had made for themselves by being the amazing people that they are.

So, I learned from both my parents how to make due with what we had and how to appreciate the gifts we have. Our holidays were always memorable, but never extravagant. My husband has some interesting stories of his childhood, but we both agreed to never go overboard on the holidays and to keep it low key as long as we could. That meant that we just had a few people over for cake on their birthdays and only started decorating for the holidays when our oldest was about two or three. Definitely less stress.

We’ve already established I wasn’t suppose to be domestic. I wasn’t suppose to be the stay-at-home parent either. It just worked out that way. Our oldest two are 18 months apart. My hormones were all over the place, my husband was working all the time to support us at a job that left him exhausted, I had an energetic two-year-old that never stopped and never slept, and an overly dramatic infant who had to cry herself to sleep every night. I was shot. But I wanted decorations for the house.

That part about my mom being really creative in raising us. Yeah, she came up with all kinds of games and activities that were really ways to save on energy bills, or entertain us for free, or just give her a break when it was all too much. We were some pretty wild kids. She always had crafts for us to do and it was my favorite thing in the world- besides reading. She also understands what it’s like to be at home with your kids and need something to help. She won me a giant basket of yarn and supplies for knitting one year and the next year it was full of yarn and everything you need to learn how to crochet. This is when I learned to crochet.

She also took me to a wreath making class. I no longer have the one wreath, but I have the second one I made. I still hang it on our door every Christmas season. I also found that crocheting with young ones was much easier and safer than trying to knit. I could make all kinds of things so quickly. It gave me something that was for me and then I gave most of it away as gifts. I also began making my own wreaths when we moved into the house we are in now. I finally had a front door where I could safely hang crocheted items.

I still don’t have one for the summer months and I’m not sure if I’ll crochet one or craft one from other mediums, but one day I’ll make one. For now, I’m just happy I finally made a Halloween one. It’s my favorite holiday and really wanted to get it right. I think I did.

Hope you enjoy! And feel free to share pictures of your own wreaths with me! I would love to see what you’ve made!