We are the sum of our parts; more importantly, the sum of our life experiences.
We are told, as children, "don't judge a book by its cover", as an admonition to be fair to everyone.
Still, we have our opinions and our notions of who people are, even if we're not consciously judging them.
Yannick and I both had a hearty laugh the other day, when we were having a conversation with people who THOUGHT they knew me. We have gone to their shop at least twice a month for over 8 years; they attended one of my art shows, with my gentle landscapes in the gallery; they are not strangers.
I mentioned that I had been driving Yannick's car and suddenly realized that I was speeding. He quickly related that I had had the music cranked, listening to heavy metal, which explained my heavy foot.
"NO!...YOU?!" Heavy Metal?! But you KNIT! Not to judge, but I always saw you as the Church Lady, in a chair knitting with soft music playing."
Yannick and I howled with laughter, knowing that I am a paradox, with two diametrically opposing sides.
I was only 27 when I moved to B.C., and (thankfully!) have evolved into the person I had always hoped to be.
My nicknames, here in the West, given to me by friends, explain some of it: one neighbour always called me "Martha" after Martha Stewart, as I fussed around the kitchen, a mini cyclone of a homemaker. I've also been called "Betty Crocker" on more than one occasion!
At the same time, I'm also the "other" person: the one who listens to heavy metal and head bangs to the thumping beat. The one who swears a blue streak when frustrated.
As a teen, I spent a ridiculous amount of time at the local pool hall in Montreal, playing pinball with a cigarette dangling from my lips, or making money betting against my opponents playing air hockey. My pockets were stretched from carrying so many quarters, which kept me busy for hours.
I am both of these diverse personalities, all at once. The gentle knitter is also the artist that growls in frustration if the colours I've mixed aren't just right. The soft hearted quilter morphs into a monster after sewing one crooked seam; the other quilters in the room often cringing at my language.
Life would have been easier if I could have changed; could have adapted to what "most" people would expect. However, I would NOT dishonour the real me; the two sides; the yin and yang.
Plus, it makes for better (and funnier!) conversations when you are a paradox!
Thank you for spending this time with me,
Lori xx
P.S. I am humbled and grateful to be part of the Federation of Canadian Artist Gallery Show, "Spotlight". I hope you, my dear readers, enjoy viewing the show via the link below: