LESSONS FROM OUR MOMS

This post was inspired by my mom.

And here is a little story about my mom. She is a chef and she runs a restaurant with my uncle. So she has a 12+ hours work day. But she LOVES to sew. And her problem is she is so petite that she cannot find anything that will fit her in the stores. So she goes to the fabric stores a lot to stock up on fabrics (when it is on sale) to make her clothes. She gets 1 day off out of the week. So she does not have much time to make her stuff. So many times have I witnessed her wasting her time at the fabric stores for hours picking out the materials, going home and having to cut out the materials, and then spending so much time to sew the garments. And those of you who sews know that making a custom outfit takes a lot of time because you have to tweek the garment so many times after you are done sewing it, so that it will fit right. And if you mess up, well, then it takes a lot of time having to rip out the seams and doing it over again.

And because my mom only has 1 day of the week to work on her craft, and a lot of time, life gets in the way. So she would leave off her projects for later (most of the time). And then guess what happens to those projects that she would leave off? Well, you guessed it, she never had time to get back to it. And with something like sewing and fashion related, the trends change so fast, that by the time you are done making something, it is already out of fashion! Unless it is vintage inspired. But even then, you might change your mind on it or the season has changed and it is too hot or too cold to wear the garment.

So I was cleaning out my craft supply the other day (getting ready for moving day) and I found an entire cabinet full of fabrics that my mom had stashed away over 10+ years ago. OMG, I could remember being a little girl going to the fabric shop with her and picking out the exact fabrics (as if it was yesterday). And now I am all grown up and having a family of my own. My mom's stash of fabrics have been untouched in so many years, and my mom had forgotten all about it. I looked at it and felt very sad. Because my mom had spent so much time working at the restaurant and not having time to do her craft projects. And just to think of all of the time that she had wasted on picking out the materials and all of the money that she had wasted on buying the materials that was never going to be used! And now she can't even use the materials because her taste have changed and the fabrics were from the 80s so they are so out of style.

I am sure many of you can relate to this true story about with my mom. And the moral of story is that if you find something that fits you and your taste, and you can afford the price for it, then just reward yourself and just buy it. Because you trying to make it yourself sometimes is not worth it.

My mom have worked so hard all of her life and she never even took time out for a vacation for herself. And she has never had the time to spend on doing what she loves and spending time with her family. I have had many of my readers who have emailed me and told me of their two jobs and 50+ hours work days. This story is dedicated to all of the women out there who works too hard and never have any time for themselves. And there has got to be an easier way to earn a decent living, have time left for yourself, and have time for your family too. I am dedicated to finding that "way out" for most of you.