Fiddling while Rome burns

I've had these colors -- yellowy greens and purples (more vibrant than this photo conveys) -- stuck in my head for several weeks now, ever since I saw a friend's painting hanging in one of our island coffee shops.

This morning I had to make a run to the post office, to mail off a package one of our daughters forgot, and the postmaster mentioned that the news this morning said there would be layoffs at my husband's company.

I called and emailed him as soon as I got home (forgetting that he had a dentist appointment before work), and when I didn't hear back I grew increasingly restless as the morning wore on; tried out several photos for this blog but none of them worked...

Finally I decided to go to the yarn shop and see if they had any yarns in these colors; maybe I could do a second pass at THE SCARF in sizes and colors that would work better for me. And while I was at the yarn shop, waiting for the proprietor to get off the phone and take my money, my husband called to say there didn't seem to be any layoffs in his division.

Whew.

Of course rumor has it there may be more in the offing... But sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof; we'll cross that bridge if we need to when we get to it. For now the news is good. And as I drove home, I thought a lot about how it might have felt if the news had been different, and offered up prayers for all the others who are in this boat: waiting to hear, or just learning they've lost their jobs, or who are trying to cope -- and have been for some time -- with a drastic loss in income.

We've been through layoffs before, he and I, and though we didn't lose our jobs then, we know the scars the layoff leaves on those who are left behind, who continue to slog away, doing more work, sometimes for less pay... And, like many people our age, we've certainly lost jobs in other situations, and know the disorientation you feel when your primary source of identity is stripped away.

So why did I buy this yarn? Maybe I'm a bit like Frederick, Lio Lionni's enchanting mouse, who stores up color and song and light for the winter while other mice store up food. Because when the food runs out -- and I've been in that situation, too, though not for long -- sometimes color and song and light are all you have.

I left the yarn shop and headed for lunch with two dear friends - an actress and a director - from my "other life" (the theater). And we found ourselves wondering: how will the new economy affect the creative impulse? We already know (oh, how I know!) that people are buying less art. But are they -- or will they be -- making more? Deprived of their day jobs, unable to find work, will they give their creative selves free rein?

The yarn proprietor certainly hopes so: and so far it's been true. She apparently did a land-office business over Christmas, where other stores on her street failed. "People are starting to make things again," she said, "because they have more time, and because they want to save money."

How about you? Have you begun storing up color in your life? My friend Karen (see pointer to her blog at left) and I have joined the Creative Every Day initiative (see http://www.creativeeveryday.com/), an inspiring way to explore ways to bring creativity to everyday life. Sometimes it's as simple as taking your child on a field trip, or finding a new recipe. And you don't have to join the website, you can just start thinking about it. Just ask yourself: what can I bring fresh to this day?

Try it; you'll like it!