Finding a Hobby (Again)

Finally seeing the light at the end of the exhausting tunnel.

In early 2020, I began watercolor painting. I have never considered myself artistic but fell into the hobby by accident when my 8-year-old son wanted to explore some painting videos on YouTube. Once I learned to wrangle the stubbornness that is watercolor paints, I found myself eager to learn. I elicited some help from an artistic friend, read books on technique, and followed several Instagrammers for inspiration. I would often listen to audiobooks and spend my morning time painting.

Then the pandemic hit. What anxiety often does for me is stifle creativity. It was too hard to feel inspired when I feared for the health/safety of my family. Plus our school and daycare closed so I found myself strained throughout the day juggling kids and work. I couldn’t paint, and I couldn’t write.

Yet I still needed a distraction. My grandmother turned 100 years old in early April, so I began doing some research on Ancestry.com. What began as a casual project quickly sucked me in. I made early mistakes but learned how to verify and review source documents to support my findings. It became exactly what I needed: something to occupy my time when I needed it, but did not require too much brainpower.