SERENITY

March 2020, the world had forever changed due to COVID 19. We were afraid to leave our houses. Online ordering increased, especially for food delivery, from the supermarket and whichever fast-food store was open and delivering. Children were staying at home, doing virtual school. My daughter included and she had just quit her part time, weekend job at an amusement park. School hours were 10am to 4 pm Mon to Fri, week in, week out. I wanted to give my daughter something to combat the boredom and monotony, of what her life had become. She was always artistic, and I had seen it on social media, it was inexpensive and all parts were included. I answered the add, ordered the kit and waited with bated breath for it to come in the mail. I was more excited for it's arrival than my daughter. . And the day came..in a long, narrow rectangular box was my anticipation.. GLASS BEADING KIT!!! I opened it, didn't even give her the chance to have the honor. A sticky mat, with a colorful, numbered diagram and corresponding numbered bags of colorful beads. The placement tool, with accompanied tip attachments, sticky putty and a set of narrow-tipped tweezers and a tray to hold the glass gems to make bead retrieval easier. I was so excited, opened it on the table and encouraged my daughter to join in. I also had purchased an additional tool kit, so we bead-simultaneously. This should and could be an Olympic Sport.

I grabbed the most colorful bag of beads in the bunch, dumped them into my tray, applied putty to the tip of my tool, dipped it into the beads, looked for the corresponding number on the sticky canvas and held my breath while I attempted to line up the bead to the canvas, with exact precision. Mission completed!!! Yay me. My daughter just watched me, like I was an idiot, and with minimal effort, did the same thing I did, lining each bead up perfectly. She applied 3-4 beads to each 1 of mine. As she worked quickly, I wondered WHY? was I struggling? Then I realized that I had my contact lenses in and they do not work as well for my extreme Myopia. I paused to run to the restroom to take out my contacts, and put on my glasses, to see if my accuracy and speed would improve with a different visual aide. Round 2: Me, the beads and the glasses...IT'S ON!!!!

NO BUENO. The glasses were worse than the contacts. Next step, I took off the glasses and went in with my naked eyes. PERFECTION!!! I could see the numbers, the outline for the bead and my speed and accuracy improved. I was going for the gold. My sister entered the room and couldn't understand why my face was literally on the sticky mat, beads and all were stuck to my face, but she could see the steam coming up from the mat as I beaded, like my life depended on it. She compared my proximity to the mat , without my glasses to that of history's famous blind and deaf girl. I must have sat at that table for 3 hours literally, twice as long as my daughter, who lost interest, and resumed her social media searching, another Olympic event. The pain in my neck and back was the only thing that got me to get up from that table, and give the beading a break for the night.

The next day, a Saturday I believe, I woke up got breakfast and coffee, and eye balled that beautiful, glistening glass bead art, just speaking to me @the kitchen table. I remembered the crick in my neck and back from the night before and didn't want to relive the pain. If I was going to successfully compete in the Summer Olympics, I had to find a way to make this both comfortable and pleasurable. Finishing breakfast, I eagerly gathered up the tools of my trade and brought them upstairs in the house. In order to excel in sports, you have to become the ball, or the tennis racket etc. I had to become the bead art, or at least get on it's level. I placed it on the ottoman and sat down on the carpeted floor. A couch pillow became my tuffet, and I Miss M....t. While I was down there, at the ottoman, facing the television, I thought about how I didn't want my Soap Operas yet, so I turned on the TV, went to the On Demand and cued up the Novela. Glasses off, TV on, tool in hand, beads in tray and at the ready I began to bead like nobody's business, only pausing to put my glasses on to see something intriguing on the TV. A few hours had passed and I was not bored, my neck and back were in tip top shape. I was destressed and happy as can be. When my afternoon teenager woke up and came out of the bedroom, she mumbled "good morning" or at least I think that's what she said, looked at me then the bead art and displayed a SMH.

Just like that an OLYMPIC athlete was born. 1 year later I still love beading, in my beading place...the ottoman near the sofa, in front of the TV. I find it relaxing, soothing, calming and a great way to unwind. When I'm beading I find my happy place of serenity, even if I get the occasional eye roll or head shake from a teenager. I'm going for the gold, we'll see if she appreciates it then. LOL