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Last night, while waiting for the clerk to wind some yarn for me, my husband and I walked around Valley Junction to stretch our legs. This area contains several unique shops and historical buildings and is a fun place to explore. It was just starting to get dark and the shop windows illuminated the walkways. Although I’ve been there many times before, I’d never noticed this old barbershop and dug out the point-and-shoot Canon Elph I carry in my purse. I took a shot through the window but decided to step inside for a better vantage point. The place was empty and I wondered if the shop was even open. Quietly, I opened the screen door (!!) and walked inside.

After taking a few shots, an elderly gentleman walked in from the a darkened room at the back of the store. I asked if he was the owner and did he mind if a took a few photos? Not at all, he was happy to oblige. We then chatted for several minutes and I learned that he’d been the sole proprietor there for 42 years. It was a fun and interesting conversation. Kevin is 70 years old and hopes to continue his barbershop business until he’s 77. That’s the age his own father was when he retired. His dad worked in construction all his life and Kevin once him he hoped to work until he was that same age as well. He reasoned that if his father could work that long doing something as physically taxing as construction, certainly he could fare as well – and for as long – as a barber cutting hair!

Kevin agreed to allow me to return to his shop anytime to take more photos. My little Elph is a great tool to keep on hand for the ‘unexpected’ but I look forward to coming back with the Big Boys to try for something a little more creative. All in all, it was a very pleasant encounter.

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Late in the spring of 2015, I decided to dust off my hooks and pick up some colorful skeins of yarn and start crocheting again, a craft I first learned when I was pregnant with my son who will turn 40 this year. After a short ramp-up period that initially required clearing the cobwebs and relearning the basics, I began in earnest.

Warm weather and seasonal activities intervened not long after that but now with wintry weather as the order of the day, I’m back at it and thoroughly love the calming movements of hook to yarn, the quiet repetition of stitches and the fabulous feeling of accomplishment when a piece is finished. Is it vain to admit I love to look at the projects I’ve completed – with my very own hands! – and to revel in the consistency of my stitches and to admire the look, the feel, the texture of my work? While by no means perfect or even the result of anything challenging in the way of design, I feel tremendous pride – and not a small amount of disbelief! – at what I have created. This makes me smile. This makes me happy.

There really is something to stepping outside one’s comfort zone AND to expressing yourself in whatever manner you wish to pursue with passion. A sense of pride and accomplishment – I’ve had too little of that in my life and I want more!