A couple of weekends ago, I was touring possible outdoor wedding ceremony sites with Fiancé and my mom. While standing under the tree which will hopefully be the backdrop of our wedding, my mom squinted a little, looked up, and professed, “That’s a good climbin’ tree.”
Beyond the amazing fact that my mom is 60 years old, give or take, and still thinks about climbing trees (a favorite pastime of her youth, even after she fell out of one and each broke a limb), I think it’s pretty incredible how she can see unique potential in otherwise ordinary things. From her I learned all my craftiness (in every sense of the word) and I’d wager most of my imagination, and for this I will be forever grateful. Being able to see a few bolts of fabric and imagine a great dress is something I almost take for granted, but the gift of seeing something not just for what it is, but for what it could be is a deep-seated part of who I am.
Tracy and I imagine taking senior pictures in this good climbin’ tree
My eighth grade teacher said he hated the phrase “Well, he’s got potential.” Probably because it was most frequently used as a platitude to comfort worried parents. “My son, Jimminy, his report card last term had three F’s and a sad face drawn on a cow–is he doing any better, Mr. Pennyfarthing?” “Well, ma’am, no. He’s still getting a sad cow in English. But I do think he has the potential to move up to just a gassy cow, with a little herd work.” So, yes, it’s true that the word has lost some of its meaning through overuse (innovation, anyone?), but I think the concept is one essential to creativity and in fact to the very spirit of apple-pie-fearin’ America.
This capacity to see what could be is what makes us crafters so crafty, and you thrift-shoppers so thrifty. It’s what makes an entrepreneur able to see something that is missing from the market and think, hey, I could fill that niche. It’s what allows an interior designer to look at a sad white corner and envision a happy, cozy reading nook. It lets programmers and you computer-minded nerds view a problem as a challenge that can be solved with the right code, rather than just the last effing straw, man. Yes, it even gives really dedicated teachers a reason to see that the kid who just lit a wall poster on fire might one day become a contributing member of society.
I think it really comes down to faith–faith that some resource could become something much better than it currently is, and faith in yourself that you are just the right person to help carve away all that boring lameness and reveal the inner awesome that only you could see. How dull would it be to see everything just as it is? And maybe the power of seeing the statue inside the block of wood isn’t much, but, hey, it’s got potential.
Bonus: another photo from the archive, because someone asked nicely.
Anyone can see the potential for fabulousness here. This lady is goin’ places.
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