The Path Not Taken . . . Yet

Last night I opened an e-mail from a quilting sister who (again) tried to talk me into joining the local guild. They're a lovely, friendly group of ladies, many of whom have issued similar invitations over the years. I had two more requests while I was at the show. Then, when I got home, my guy suggested I join, which really surprised me. I didn't know he was aware that I quit my online guild when all the eye trouble happened back in 2014, but apparently he pays more attention to me than I thought.

I sometimes suspect the family is trying to find things for me to do now that my kids are grown. Which, honestly, is weird. In addition to my full-time job as a ghost writer I have two dogs and a very large house to maintain, meals to cook, laundry to wash, a daughter to get through college, books, my own quilts, art, reviews to write for LT . . . all of which leaves me very little idle time to join a new group and get into even more creative trouble.

It would be nice to belong to the local guild. Right now my pal Jill is the only quilter friend I have in my real world life, and she's just as if not more busy with her family. Our conflicting schedules make it hard to get together very often. I rarely do well in groups (and that's me, not them) but I'd probably have a great time with this particular guild. Nearly all of the ladies in it are my age or older. No one is snobby or acts superior, although a few of them are masters of the art. Most of the guild ladies use machines for everything, but they like the kind of hand work work I do. I could probably learn a lot from all of them, and I know some have been quilting for half a century (I've only been at it for twenty-five years.)

That said, family and work must come first for me right now. Today, while the guild is having their weekly meeting, I will be finishing up a series proposal for one of my clients. That one job will pay my bills for six months. Or I could be sitting and gossiping and sewing, and having fun, and earning nothing. I also know in my heart that while I love quilting, writing really owns me.

It's not a tough choice. If I ever retire from writing (doubtful) or when my youngest gets her degree I may change my mind, but for now I'll just be content with seeing them once a year at the big show.

What have you given up for now that you may take up later? Let us know in comments.