Remembering 30

 

Truth be told, I was closer to 40 in this photo, not 30, but still...

The suit is handwoven silk.  While you can't see them, there are little butterflies woven into the jacket fabric.

I was pretty proud of myself and wore the suit to a number of occasions, many of them fairly fancy/dress up.  

I mentioned in my last post that I remember my 30 year old self.  Actually what I remember most is my 35 year old self.  I'd had my allergies diagnosed and was firmly settled into my allergen free diet.  I'd lost weight because my body wasn't trying to deal with a constant barrage of foods it couldn't process and were actually making me ill.  I discovered the link between my chronic pain and allergy reaction and was feeling better physically than I had in a very long time.  

Weaving was going well since I'd hired on as an independent contractor with the fashion designer in Vancouver and was making steady income from the studio.  I was as physically fit as I'd ever been, working well, gaining a reputation for making good cloth.

Oh sure, there were ups and downs.  Sometimes shows didn't go as well as I'd hoped.  Sometimes I was asked to teach at a conference and then my class didn't get sufficient registrations and my participation got cancelled.  Sometimes I sent articles in to publications and they were rejected.

But I knew that was just the way things went.  Life is never a straight line progression, there are always potholes in the road, bridges fall down, detours must be taken.

I suppose the memoir I'm reading is stirring up my own memories since the writer is only a few years younger than me and so much of what she references is part of my history, too, or maybe I'm just trying to deal with the aging process.

Anyway.  I remember her.  With the dreams.  The visions.  The goals.