I am thankful.

Today I packed a box.

Tomorrow I will take it to the post office

so that it can make its way to Sydney

and its contents can then be sent on to the Philippines 

in time for Christmas.

I have spent most of this year waiting 

to be able to make that trip to the post office.

It seemed clear through the year how I would blog about this project

as a simple "look what I did" post

but I realise now that there are many aspects 

that I need to or at least want to put in writing.

So I will.

In that box are 75 dresses that I have sewn this year

to send to Dress A Girl Around The World

for distribution.

This statement alone lends itself to several comments

about me and about this project.

1. I really don't like making the same thing over and over.

2. I tend to be obsessive and compulsive.

3. I have a shitload of fabric that I will never, ever live long enough to sew up.

4. The extent of my compulsiveness and the extent of my fabric stash

outweighed the fact that I don't like to make the same thing even twice

and sometime back near the start of the year

(when I was possibly inebriated, sleep deprived 

or high on icecream)

I thought it was a good idea to cut out 75 dresses.

I have said for a couple of years that I would sew some dresses

for this campaign so perhaps I felt like I had to pull my digit out

and make a real effort.

5. Mr Boozle is proud of my project

but is crying because he can't see any dent in my fabric collection.

6. You can listen to a lot of musical theatre and audio books

while you sew this many dresses.

I thought a lot while I was sewing.

Sometimes, particularly while I was doing the bias,

the thought process involved a lot of swear words.

But there were other things ticking over in my head.

7. I am blessed and I am grateful.

I live in a wonderful country.

I am married to a good bloke

and yes, while I do want to send my kids off to military school on a daily basis,

I am so lucky to have them and I do love them.

My family are generally in good health and we have each other.

I am lucky to have the time and resources to put into this project.

8. When did the human race become so unequal?

Now that most of us don't have the evolutionary pressures

of avoiding starvation or becoming dinner to a sabre tooth tiger

and making sure that we live long enough to breed,

are we evolving in a direction that isn't great for mankind as a whole?

Are we looking evolving to be more selfish and

more self absorbed?

How did it get to be that so many people on this planet have so little?

9. Giving is good for you.

There are mental and physical benefits to doing good things for other people.

You have lower blood pressure.

You will probably live longer.

You have better self esteeem.

Depression is less likely.

Search the web. There is article after article.

10. My children have everything that they need

and a lot of what they want

(so their wish for a house walking distance from Disneyland 

hasn't been granted but I am sure that they wont hold that against us

once they reach adulthood)

We sponsor a child through World Vision;

we make donations to Kiva as a family;

we remind them that they have lives to be thankful for.

And I got to share with this project with them.

Why I was doing it.

Who I was doing it for.

How hard-working and generous the people who collect

and distribute these dresses are.

Hopefully some of it will stick.

We can all do things for others.

Little things, maybe bigger things.

But things to show that we care.

We should all take the time to put our lives into perspective.

We all have problems that are real

but hopefully most of us are thankful 

that we are who we are 

and that we live where we do.

I am not looking for praise for completing this project.

I am embarrassed that it took me so long to get off my arse and do it.

I am relieved that I have fulfilled my promise to myself.

I am grateful that I have the life that I have

and that it has allowed me to do this.

I am hopeful that this is just that start of combining my love of craft

with making a contribution to the happiness of others.

I need to remember to appreciate what I have and
to do what I can do for others.

I need to be thankful every day.