Encounters with the Davis Family: November 2021

If you asked me today what my hobbies are I would say I don't have very many. Mainly reading and occasionally putting together jigsaw puzzles. But, that hasn't always been the case. I was thinking yesterday about all the hobbies I used to do and no longer do, for whatever reason. As I was thinking about it, I realized that hobbies are like seasons. The seasons change and so do our hobbies. We do our hobbies for a season...for however long that season lasts. Sometimes, the same hobby comes around again, for yet another season. Thinking back, over the years, I have had quite a few hobbies.

Reading

Reading has been a hobby/love of mine since I was little. It has always been an escape, especially when things were rough. I could disappear for a while into a good book and pretend all was right in the world. While I don't still use it for an escape (as much) I still LOVE to read and have developed a love for nonfiction as well. I love to learn. I think one of the reasons this hobby has lasted when so many haven't is because you can pick it up read a bit and then put it down when you have to do something else. Not everything is that easy to drop.

Latch hook

This is something I did in my teens and our early years of marriage. I am not artistic at all, but this was a form of art that I could do. I think I stopped because I didn't know what to do with the projects once they were done. Plus, money was tight and this was an expense we didn't need. Although, I think there might be one project in my closet still unfinished.

Paint by number

Remember those? Do they even still make them? I liked to paint and loved that when I finished the project it looked like a real picture (as opposed to what it would look like if I actually tried to paint a picture 😂).

Cross-stitch

Where the projects are languishing in my closet!

I also did this in my teens and continued for many years after we got married. Again, not artistic, but an art form I could do. I would finish the projects and then give them as gifts. I started a cross-stitch baby blanket when my sister was pregnant with my niece and I am pretty sure it is also still in my closet (my niece will be 11 in December). I simply stopped having time to work on it. I think I have pulled out a project and tried to work on it in this house as well (we've been here 5 1/2 years), but the light wasn't quite right in the living room and I gave up, then we had foster kiddos and I didn't have the time. This is something I think I would like to try doing again.

Scrapbooking

I used to LOVE to work on scrapbooks. I started one for Kayla and Elijah when they were babies and I haven't worked on them in years and years. At one point the expense of developing pictures was an issue and then it became a time issue. It takes time to pull it all out and sort through it and then do a page...and I couldn't just leave it all out and go back to it here and there. We didn't have the space for that. This is something else I would like to start doing again, finishing their scrapbooks.

Taking pictures

I don't have a lot of pictures of me and my family when I was little. There was no money for a camera and film. I think that made me want to take pictures to always have the memories. I started taking pictures in middle school and have continued. Over the last couple of years though, I find myself taking fewer and fewer pictures. I am attempting to be more present in the moments, snapping some pictures, but not so many that I miss what we are doing.

Photo Albums

I used to be SO good at developing all the pictures and putting them in albums. Then I had kids and we started moving around and I got too busy to keep up. However, when we were in Singapore I had a friend, Lynette (still my sister-friend!), who was also behind on the developing/organizing pictures, so we started getting together just to work on these projects and I got caught back up. Now I can't remember the last time I printed pictures and made an album. I do photo books every once in a while of different things. That last one I did was last year when I made Kayla a photo book/yearbook for high school graduation. It was a fun, but very time-consuming project. I need to be working on Elijah's but haven't started.

Sewing

I like to sew and over the years have taught myself some basic stuff. Then, about 3 years ago I took a sewing class and I loved it. I don't sew very often, because I don't have a lot of time for it, and I don't know what to work on, LOL. I want to sew but need to find a project to do...which takes time and consideration.

Bible Journaling

I LOVED Bible Journaling. I found it to be a great way to meditate on what I was reading in the Bible, but again, not very artistic, so mainly just writing in the margins, prayers, other verses that were related to what I was reading. I stopped this when we started having foster kiddos because I didn't have the time to do it anymore. I have not started back. It's hard, but even though I don't have all the obligations I used to have in the mornings, I still feel pressured to get going on the day. It is something that I am trying to work through. I would like to start this again too, but don't feel like I have any creative juices for it.

Blogging

Yep, I started this blog 10 years ago, on November 5, 2011. I didn't realize until this moment that I had hit my 10th anniversary!!! I did stop for a few years and feel like I'm not as consistent as I was when I first started. But, the truth is I give it more time than I did then. So, I don't know what the pressure is to do more, LOL. I love blogging it has always been an outlet for me. When I started it I wanted it to be a place to let our family and friends know what is going on in our lives because we were overseas. I still use it for that but also try to use it as an encouragement for others. I enjoy it so much that I started a book blog (combining my love of reading and blogging) and that has been a blast. It has been so much fun finding other bloggers with common interests.

Online video games

I went through a season where I enjoyed playing candy crush and some other games on Facebook. I can't remember what they were, but I know I did several. I finally decided this was a waste of my time and quit doing them. Every once in a while I want to do an online game, but for the most part, I don't.

Jigsaw Puzzles

I have always loved putting puzzles together! This is something that we have done as a family and for a long time, we were always in a puzzle. Now, we still do them, but not quite as often. The kids have jobs, Kayla's at college, so not as much time and interest. I did start a 2000 piece Christmas puzzle yesterday though, and it will probably take us until Christmas (or beyond) to finish it, LOL. I love it because you can leave it set up and put a few pieces in as you need a break or distraction from something else. I used to have Elijah go and do a few pieces of the puzzle when he was frustrated with his school work. It was a good mental reset. Kayla would join him just because she enjoyed doing it and it wasn't fair he could go do it during school 😂.

I am sure I have had other hobbies but these are the ones I remember the most. What do you think, do you think hobbies are like seasons? What hobbies do you enjoy that you are not able to do in this season of life? What hobbies do you have? I would love to hear about your hobbies!