30 Paintings in 30 Days - Day Four

"Violet on Sunday" - mixed media on reclaimed wood, 6" x 18".  Ready to hang.  Click here to purchase this piece on Artfinder.

The unpacking is still in progress.  But imagine my delight when I came across two paper napkins from Olive's house, printed with the fucshia flowers which are all over Ireland's roadsides and hills.  I was so happy to use one of them in the creation of a pretty frock for this little princess. :)

It was meant to be a lazy Sunday, catching up on sleep, binge watching Netflix and (maybe) pulling a couple of weeds.  My dad was hospitalized last night in the latest round of a herculean battle with congestive heart failure, so we will be heading over to visit him today.  This means I must abandon my painting pajamas and venture out into the world, perhaps even sharing a roll of my beloved Winegums to entice my dad to eat a little something.

Life rolls this way...planned days morphing into something completely unexpected, with sudden shifts and flexibility required.  Now some might find these changes stressful and disconcerting (and, honestly, many days I do) but  today feels more like the world telling me that adventure time is not yet over and lazy days should wait until another time.

Late last night at the hospital, my dad was smiling at all the stories of my most recent adventure, forgetting for a minute the crush of symptoms and discomfort, pausing to smile and express his own desire to experience life in a small town across the pond.  As I sat in the chair next to him in the emergency room, I realized the many lessons in storytelling I learned in Ireland were perhaps preparation for moments like these, where the ability to spin a tale is more valuable than money, and the gift of distraction is priceless.