Basket Case

I'm not ashamed to admit that I've felt like a basket case more often than not lately. The demands of the holiday season added upon the demands of daily living in my "new" world are just an awful lot to deal with. Most days I make it through OK and other days, well, not so much. Every weekend there are more things I'd like to do than I have time or energy to do, so I prioritize, pick, and choose from among lots of wonderful options. For some reason I made no commitments for today, knowing I would need a Saturday off. This proved to be useful when I got an email from the volunteer coordinator at Great Smoky Mountains National Park on Thursday reminding me of a training class I had signed up for -- today! My schedule was open so I was able to meet my commitment. Whew!

It's difficult to get into this class so I was thrilled for the opportunity to learn a little about baskets used by the pre-park residents of the Smokies. Each park volunteer/student in the class got the opportunity to make their very own berry basket. I've wanted to learn how to make baskets since practically forever so this was a golden opportunity. Cindy, a fellow volunteer, taught the class and helped everyone master the basics of constructing a simple basket. She was awesome!

Besides learning a valuable skill, today provided a much-needed opportunity to let go of everything I've been stressing about and just enjoy life for a few hours. It was a superb Christmas present that I'm sure park personnel had no idea they were giving me. My current sock knitting project has already taken up residence in my new basket. I'm pretty sure there will be more handmade baskets in my future. Maybe being a basket case isn't such a bad thing after all?

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