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31 Days: Create



When I read today's Five Minute Free Write prompt Create, I had one thought: Does Pinterest stress anyone else out or is it just me? I log in and there are so many choices: how to create better meals, how to create an organized home, how to create the look everyone is after. I even get stressed when the Pinterest emails hit my inbox. Oh no, what should I being creating now? I created the illusion that I made it to work on time today, isn't that enough?

I do strive to create better meals. Here are my cookbooks to prove that. 



I have plastic tubs in my attic to help me get organized. I was too scared to go up there to take a photo of those. And I live in the hometown of Rustic Cuff so I'm working on my collection to help me create that look. 

Don't get me started on the opportunities to create that I have brought into my house. There are the boxes of puzzles just waiting to be put together. I have enough cross stitch patterns to keep me busy for 15 years, if I did one pattern every 3 months. And there are the coloring books that are supposed to help me de-stress that taunt me with their uncolored pages.

Luckily I have proof of finished puzzles because they aren't worked if you haven't put a photo of them on Facebook, right? 



I do have finished cross stitch projects. Some are framed like this one



but some aren't but they are accomplishments just the same. And the coloring books, well, they are within arms reach of me now as I type.

I often think, did my mom feel this pressure? Then I remember the books from Wilton she had that featured cake design techniques and the elaborate wedding cakes I dreamed of having one day. I think this is the book she had but unfortunately, I couldn't find a photo of my favorite cake, the one with the bridesmaids going down one side and the groomsmen on the other. Oh, and the ones with fountains in the middle were awesome!



She still creates a two-tiered white cake with white frosting for me every year. The big reveal is in what color she will write "Happy Birthday Andrea." 



Every year she creates a new ornament for me and my sister, photos of which I will feature in December on this blog. Crystal's prompt for today was "Your favorite family tradition" and those cakes and those ornaments are my favorite family traditions.

I've never seen her stress over these creations, they are symbols of her love, not pins on a Pinterest board. I'm sure the people that create those pages of creations on Pinterest have similar motivations. Years from now, their children will be recalling their favorite family traditions involving those pins. Those memories are some of the best creations there are. Even if they aren't delivered to inbox everywhere or posted on Facebook, they are creations just the same.

So instead of feeling bad about cooking the same thing over and over again, I will remember the feeling of accomplishment when I create a fire in the grill and how wonderful every steak I cook tastes. Instead of beating myself up about the unfinished projects, I will remember the thank you note from my friend about the cross stitch I made to celebrate her wedding that she placed on her mantel that helped her create a memory of her special day. And maybe in July, I will try to create a two-tiered white cake with "Happy Birthday Momma" written on it. Even if it isn't pretty enough to take a photo of, it will create a memory. But if it is pretty, you better believe it's going on Facebook.
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