Aftermath

Yesterday our Tuesday afternoon group met.  The idea was to work on our Christmas table decorations.  This is a long term project that we started a few weeks ago by creating some paper to cover boxes before we'd add some ribbon.  We also painted the insides of clear ornaments.  But that wasn't the high point of the afternoon.

As I reported last week I had a creativity meltdown and couldn't get an idea to take shape the way I had envisioned.  As a fallback plan we painted small flowerpots in fall colors and added some silk flowers along with a bit of bling. 

When I arrived for this week's session the residents were happy and excited.  It seems that there had been a luncheon and their creations were used on the tables.  The women at the luncheon marveled at the pieces and asked where the facility had purchased them.  When they heard that they were made by the residents they asked if more could be made and sold at next year's craft sale.  Some of the residents from the Tuesday group were in the area and heard and saw the commotion. 

It was immensely gratifying for the residents to have their work acknowledged.  It was a lesson for me in going with the flow.  Not all plans go according to plan.  And that's OK.  Creating community is, perhaps, the most important thing we create.  The rest is bonus.