A First Grader's Heart...

First grade is a big deal.

It's innocence, earnestness and candor,
curious eyes and open minds.

It's the first step towards the land of big kids: exciting for children,
bittersweet for parents who wonder how their babies got so big, so fast.

We worry, wonder and encourage at the start of each new milestone.
We beg Time to slow down as we savor these waning little kid days.

First grade puts the world of books and language in their very own hands and opens
the door for new friends and experiences. Their perspectives stop us in our tracks
and remind us of how happiness is not tied up in things.

I met my own lifelong best friend in first grade.
Thirty years later, we are the mothers of daughters born one month to the day apart.
They are first graders.

I see their faces each time I think of those beautiful children.
My heart hurts at the thought of their parents' awful reality.
I want to wrap them up in my arms and cry with them.
My head can't help but go to a place that is brutally sad, where innocence is lost.

I want to make sense of this senseless horror, but
there's none to be had.

Perhaps if we all lived our lives with the heart of a first grader, our
world would be a kinder, safer place.

Perhaps the best thing I can do to honor their memories is to encourage
the peace in my own children's hearts and go forward each day with
more gratitude and pray that it's enough.




May they find the peace they so deserve.
May their parents feel our collective hearts in their time of unthinkable grief.

Erin

Design School Diary: Creative Juices

Since I've begun design school, it's fair to say I've been sporadic at best at blogging.

I've been channeling so much creative energy into my projects

and what I'm learning, that it's been a challenge lately to have any left for the blog. Wrangling and refining my thoughts to share seems exhausting to me in the dark early morning and late night hours.

Like going to the gym, the further away from it I get, the harder it is to return and refocus.

So today, this is my attempt to do just that.

Here's a little view into what I've been

working on these days: my color harmony project.

Our task was to design a space around a postcard we randomly selected and create the back story for a fictitious client. The objective was to choose textiles and finishes that blend harmoniously with the palette the card inspired.

Who were my clients? 

A young family returning to their hometown of New Bern, North Carolina, 

which just so happens to be the birthplace of Pepsi-Cola (and where my parents live).

My vision?

A family room that drew upon the colors of the card  and offered

an updated take on a traditional home near the downtown and riverfront areas.

What did I learn?

• Following my instincts is what it's all about, but also really daunting.
• My classmates are super-talented, supportive and creative women.
• Getting my feet wet in this new world is incredibly exciting. 

Next up?

• Hopefully finding a way to balance my creative juices and get back to blogging more frequently.
• Designing a fictitious restaurant based upon the design of an historical period. I've chosen Scandinavian Modernism. It's rather unknown to me and definitely out of my comfort zone, so wish me luck!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Erin