Shared Inspirations

After twenty-one years of teaching and on completion of my Masters in Educational Leadership, I made the choice to work at home. I have teenagers who are passionate about their pursuits and I knew that I would spread myself too thinly if I accepted a job that required me to work according to a schedule other than my family schedule. Not everyone is able to make this choice nor do they have the desire to and so I am grateful that I was able to honour my desire.

I am a passionate homemaker.

I coined this phrase and referred to myself as this long before I ever came across this blog Passionate Homemaking of which I actively follow and encourage you to follow as well. It is this “same idea” phenomenon that I address today.

When I graduated from University with my first degree and embarked on teaching for a living, I realized that I had moved seven times in two years. My cats were getting used to this and loved playing in and among the boxes. This is when I decided to write a children’s story about a little girl who was fussed and stressed about moving but through the story begins to envelop the move by observing and playing with her cat who, like my cats, plays in and among the packing boxes. I thought it was a brilliant and supportive story and I envisioned the entire photo essay. One day while book browsing with a friend, I rounded a shelf in a beloved independent wee bookstore, only to scream out loud. My friend rushed over to see what was wrong and all I could do was point at the picture book on the shelf. There before us was My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes by Eve Sutton and Lynley Dodd. How was it possible that someone who lived on the other side of the world from me could have the same idea? Even though Sutton and Dodd’s book was slightly different from mine, it was too similar. I was absolutely and completely deflated so much so that I never did write that children’s book. However, being the granddaughter of an inventor who never saw all of his innovations brought to fruition, I did begin to realize that creative people around the world and over time, would continue to have parallel ideas that would fit each particular needs and that those inspirations might resonate within each one so deeply that they would need to express them in some manner - even if they were similar.

Have you had an inspiration that someone else has also dreamed?

…Ellyn

My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes