CREATIVITY: IT'S IN THEIR BLOOD

My kids are pretty darn lucky.  They've got creative genes flowing down to them from all four grandparents, not to mention a houseful of awesome handcrafted stuff to remember them by.  John's mother was a painter for most of her life.  We have a whole wall full of her paintings in our living room, plus many more that we have no place to hang.

My very favorite is this portrait she did of my hubby when he was about five years old.

I'd recognize that face anywhere!

When she was in her 60s, however, she decided to branch out and try something different.  So she went and taught herself how to do woodcarving!  Little tiny hummingbirds in flight were her specialty, held aloft by the tip of their needle-like beaks (are they still called beaks if you suck through them?).

I'm told John's dad dabbled in photography in his younger days, and had a darkroom set up in their home, but his true passion was handcrafted furniture.  He could, and did, make anything from sewing cabinets and plant stands to china cabinets and grandfather clocks.

My own mother dabbled in everything from jewelry-making and painting to miniatures and dollhouses, but she was a most amazing seamstress.  Not only did she keep herself and all her children clothed when times were lean, she once provided all the gowns for a fashion show they were putting on at my dad's company, designing and constructing them all out of drapery and upholstery samples that they had lying around in their showroom.  She also kept us supplied with costumes for Halloween, plays, and weddings!

My dad was a home-designer and builder, so he actually used his creativity to earn a living.  Unfortunately, he worked such long hours, six or more days per week, he had no time for hobbies. Which made it all the more special that, when my fourteen-year-old self showed him a sketch of a special bed she had designed -- a twin-sized four-poster shaped sort of like a box, with a pull-out drawer underneath and curtains all around that could be pulled shut whenever she felt like disappearing into a good book -- she found it waiting in the garage for her on Christmas morning!  And if I ever find that dang picture of it, I will post it for you.  I know there's one here somewhere.

So, yeah, I'd say my kids are pretty darn lucky to have all this talent, imagination, and creativity flowing through their veins, wouldn't you?  Let's just hope they've got a good dose of my common sense flowing through there as well!