Independence

What do you think about when you read the word independence? As I prepare to celebrate the Nation's holiday, many ideas come to mind. This year is the first of my independence as a business owner and inventor. And so far I've learned that being successfully independent involves the support of many people. I've needed the financial and emotional support of my husband, the positive energy of my children, the encouragement of my mom and brothers, the intelligence of wonderful folks at Etsy, fb and blogger (especially Jen at Tutu's Bliss, Emmy Mom, Heather Oswald at Oswald Cuties and the SITS girls there). I've needed legal advice from David Pressman, and the list just gets longer. You see, no matter how alone and "independent" I feel some days, sitting at the sewing machine or scanning for knowledge online, being independent means having a vision and asking for help from God and others to make it a material reality.

Recently I found a beautiful page at the back of the March 2010 Better Homes and Gardens magazine. The "I did it!" page is a regular monthly column highlighting readers who did something wonderful to their home. In this particular entry, Jenny Nunnink showcased the finished patio she designed and created with tiles after drawing pictures with chalk, grinding tiles, and arranging the pieces into swirling, colorful patterns. She said

"the patio makes our small house much friendlier for entertaining. The way we can have these special things is to do it ourselves. I'll try most anything."

I agree...and for my topic here I would add that the way I can have the special thing that is my career is to do it myself. The blog makes my small business much friendlier for working. Despite (or perhaps because of) the small number of my followers at this stage, I appreciate every one. I am thankful for comments, and am encouraged by people who say nice things even on my worst blogging entries. I'm thankful that I don't have to be completely independent.

There is something wonderful about doing things by myself, trying new things I never thought I would be able to do. But I also fully appreciate that even though I walked up the mountain by myself, with my own two feet, I didn't really do it alone. There was that wonderful guy I married beside me, and God too.