Bracken putting up wooden magnets on our display.
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It’s funny. Every year we set up our booth in our house to prepare for the Holiday Market. And every year I give myself a little pep talk, telling myself: It’s no big deal, I can handle it for a few days, no problem. I remind myself to breathe deep and relax. But when it comes time and the booth is actually in the middle of our living room, it always drives me nuts. I’ve always searched for another part of the house to set it up in, but it always comes back to the living room- it’s the best spot for that. (Last year I convinced Jeff to set it up in the guest/craft room upstairs just to avoid the annoyance in the middle of our living space. Hauling every single piece of our booth and display up and down those narrow stairs? It was crazy and we knew we would never do that again.) We try to get around it and convince ourselves we don’t need to set up our booth ahead of time, but we know we’re kidding ourselves.We most definitely need to. We make sure we have everything, make improvements on our display, and it’s just a very important part of our preparation process. So this year we knew we’d set up our booth ahead of time (after learning how essential it is over the years.) And this year I knew in the living room it would be. I gave myself the yearly pep talk. Then we set it all up. And let me tell you, it’s pretty crazy around here right now. Our living space is like a construction zone as we build and drill and create. There are tools and cords and booth parts scattered. Bracken’s toys are mixed in everywhere. We have to squeeze by the booth to get to the bathroom and to hang the laundry (and to- fill in the blank.). All the chaos makes it hard for me to think at times. Jeff doesn’t enjoy it either, but he’s better at being able to think while he’s surrounded by chaos. Bracken has thought the booth is pretty fun, like a giant fort. He brings over blankets and pillows and tells us he is having a picnic and watching fireworks in there.

  Yesterday I spent over three hours trying to get Bracken down for a nap. (I may have been a bit pms-y, in addition to being exhausted and overwhelmed by all that needed to get done before market.) I wanted a quiet moment in the day to focus and clarify what I needed to finish. I needed to get some things accomplished. And when my grouchiness had started heading over to Bracken and Jeff, my mom called at just the right moment. Jeff and Bracken went and had some quiet time together. I chatted with my mom, knitting for peace and sanity (it really works), while she made me laugh over and over. She knows and understands just how crazy it gets at times and how much the-booth-in-the-middle-of-our-living room drives me nuts. She gets it. And she helped me get some perspective. For now our entire living room is overtaken. For now it’s messy. And crazy and cramped. But tomorrow morning our booth will be taken down and packed in our car. And things will go more smoothly while we set up at market and I know it will all be worth it. Tomorrow I can bring some order and peace back into our living space. And then start composing my pep talk for next year, I’ll need it.