The Craft Gene

No matter how hard I've tried over the years, I still seem to lack a craft gene. I've tried, believe me..I've tried. I suppose I'm one of those people that's never going to be able to create something that people go "Oh wow, how cool". No, people who have witnessed my attempts go "WTF is that thing?" I've always been envious of all those etsy folks; I've got tons of esty sellers "favorited" and how I wish I could do what they do. I can't..it's just not happening. Along with that missing math gene that would enable me to balance my checkbook and figure out if I got ripped off on my paycheck again, I got gypped in the creative department.

Quilting, sewing, cross-stitch, beading...been there, done that. There's still a cross-stitch, unfinished, in my "craft cupboard" in the attic. I got frustrated and quit. A full library of "How to Sew" books. There's a box of beads up there, too. I know for a fact there's a full quilt kit, still sealed, in that cupboard. I hang on to these things hoping that gene just skipped a generation and my daughter inherited it. She's 12 now. I haven't seen it developing yet but she did draw one awesome picture.

She drew it at school and they published it in the Catholic newsletter. When I asked her the meaning behind it, she said it was for her older brother, Jared, who is gay. Her belief is that God loves everyone...gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, straight..and the ones that are persecuted for who they are will be the ones with the keys to the Kingdom. I was never so proud of her as I was that day. We've always been very open with her about who her brother is and what it means to be GLBT. She's seen what her brother has had to go through, being gay. It breaks her heart just like it does mine.

But she'll change the world, I do believe that. She is so much like me when I was her age. She's sensitive and loves animals. She's got a wicked sense of humor and she's damn smart for her age. She was my low-maintenance baby...rarely crying, never whining. My mother loved to baby-sit her because she never got into anything like her older brothers did. She's also quiet and shy like I was at her age except she's learned early how to speak up for herself..something I didn't learn until much later in life. And because she's normally quiet and reserved, when she does speak up...people listen. She told me that they were learning about sex education at school and the topic of homosexuality came up. She said that kids were laughing and that it upset her. After class was over, she went to the teacher and told her that it bothered her since she felt like they were laughing at her brother. So I think if she lacks the craft gene, I won't be too upset...she got the best of me in her anyway.