21 May 2016

Beautiful Faces


Last night, I ordered our groceries online for the third week in a row.

I shouted, “What do we need?” My daughter Imogen looked in the pantry and fridge and told me what things were running low. Then I clicked a whole lot of stuff into my cart. I chose a delivery time. Shopping done. Easy.

This morning, I didn’t have to drive into town to buy our weekly groceries. So I said, “Gemma-Rose, would you like to walk to the village with me? I’ll buy you a hot chocolate.”

Half an hour later, as we were sitting in the village cafe, I asked, “Isn’t this a good way to spend Saturday morning?” Gemma-Rose nodded. Sipping hot drinks, sharing a cake and chatting are a lot more fun than grocery shopping.

I needed some one-on-one time with my youngest daughter. She hasn’t been well. For almost three weeks she’s been battling a cold. Today, I wanted to do something enjoyable with her, find out how she’s feeling, touch base with her.

“I saved $26 when I ordered the groceries, ” I told Gemma-Rose, (That’s what I was told when I confirmed my order.) “So I bought a book. It just so happened to cost $26.” (Am I getting a free book?)


The book is called Drawing and Painting Beautiful Faces by Jane Davenport. Now it’s not the sort of book I usually buy. You see, I’m hopeless at art. (Unlike my sister Vicky. Did you see her drawing in my last It’s Not a Periscope?) But does that mean I can’t experiment? I don’t need to produce anything fantastic. I could just have fun playing around with lines and colour.

Gemma-Rose likes drawing even though she says she isn’t very good at it. “I can’t draw faces properly,” she told me.

“Last night, I watched this video…” I began. I told Gemma-Rose how Dina Wakley had shown me exactly how to draw a recognisable face. She even told me how to paint it using shadows and highlights. You know, I might actually try and follow Dina’s instructions while I wait for my book to arrive.

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My friend Karla draws faces. Every day I see a new one in my Instagram and Facebook feeds. I love her drawings. Looking at them, I think, “I wish I could draw faces.” And maybe I can. With Dina’s help and Jane Davenport’s book which I bought because I saved $26.

I wonder if I really save money buying my groceries online. I save petrol because we live ‘out of town’, and all those trips to and from the shops add up. And I save money because I don’t impulse shop. Do you ever go shopping for 4 items and come home with 20? I do that all the time. But if I did go to town, I could hop from one shop to another, buying a few things here and a few there, depending on who is selling what at a cheaper price. But I hate doing that. It makes my feet sore. And it takes up a lot of time. Is it worth it? Some things are more important than saving a few extra dollars.

Like having time to drink hot chocolate with a daughter on a Saturday morning. I look at Gemma-Rose’s beautiful face and wonder, “Perhaps I can draw a face.”

I’m going to try. Sometimes it’s fun to experiment with new things. Have a go. And not worry about the outcome.

Shopping online, freeing up time to do more important things, pursuing new interests, not worrying about whether I can or I can’t…

These are some of the things I’ve been thinking about today…

Sue Elvis

I'm an Australian blogger, podcaster, and Youtuber. I write and speak about unschooling, parenting and family life. I'm also the author of the unschooling books 'Curious Unschoolers', 'Radical Unschool Love' and ‘The Unschool Challenge’. You'll find them on Amazon!

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