Needless to say, I am having a difficult time coping with my sister’s passing (a month and a half ago). I do not feel like doing much of anything, and it’s only by the grace of God that I get through the things I must do.  Spring semester classes are finally over. I have hundreds of assignments to grade (not exaggerating).  The stress and exhaustion are a bit overwhelming, so last weekend I returned to creativity.  Not because I wanted to but because I needed to.  I had to.  The “life-is-meaningless” moments were coming too frequently and I could not allow myself to give into those feelings.  Sooooo, I created a couple of swaps and joined a couple of swaps, knowing that if I make a commitment to something, I will follow through.  Knowing that if I get my hands moving and start playing around with images and color and paper eventually this unspeakable grief will feel less unbearable.  Knowing that through the act of creating I will eventually find words and eventually healing. I accomplished a few things while trying to process some of my feelings…

• I manipulated images for a couple of swaps and notecards
• I created a couple of postcards for National Postcard Week (May 5-11)
• I tweaked the “Thank You” cards I designed for all the heartfelt expressions of sympathy
• I worked with my hubby and son on ideas for my son’s science project on the sun

I’m not quite “there” yet, but I’m here. And I’m sitting in front of the computer typing up this blog post when it would be so much easier to crawl under the covers–that says a lot.  I can’t post everything because I don’t want to spoil the surprise for some of the recipients, but here’s one of the photos I’m thinking about sending out for a B&W photo swap.  I found this gem at Whippoorwill Academy and Village in Ferguson, North Carolina.

“Sweet Beloved,” Ferguson, North Carolina, 2012

And here’s my son’s science project–“Our Super Star.”  It’s all about the S-U-N.

“Our Super Star,” The Little One’s First Grade Science Project

His project touts the sun’s amazing qualities, despite the fact that some scientists label it an “ordinary” star.  There’s nothing ordinary about the sun to us!