Welcome to my first “official” blog! Very exciting for me. I am Carol Lawrence, born November 21, 1963, right here in Manchester. I had a pretty average life — great mom and dad. I am the oldest, and I have a younger brother, Brian, and a younger sister, Cathy. I grew up in the
restaurant business (Belmont Hall), so it was natural for me to follow with the same. I bought my first “diner” in September, 1987 — I was 23! I am talking about the “famous” Red Arrow Diner (yes, I had help).
When I think of that — almost 33 years later — a few more diners, now in partnership with my dad, a couple husbands, my son, Tyler, step-daughter, Dawn, granddaughters, Raury-Jesse and Alexandra and grandson, Dominik!- Oh and I can’t forget my dogs- Molly, Charleston and
Stuart! Oops and my husband- Darryl- LOL
You are probably asking- what does all this have to do with SoberSewist and LOVING what you do? Well- in a nutshell- I started sewing lessons about seven years ago- I took lessons (teacher, Doris) and I fell in LOVE with it. I first learned pillow cases- I think I have made over 500 of these- and everyone that knows me- got one! One thing led to another- and next thing you know, I’m in a new class at Nashua Sew & Vac- and I learned about embroidery on my sewing machine! EEK- did I get the “bug”- I have gone through a lot of upgrading my machines, (thank you Ruthie) and it is now a huge passion for me.
All this sewing was a blessing in disguise for me- yes… i am a firm believer in “everything happens for a reason,” which brings us to the “sober” part of SoberSewist… (short version- you will learn more as we go) August 4th, 2018, I had what you would call an intervention- (my brother told me I sewed “abnormally”- I was like- WHAT?), I went to a rehab for 30 days in Tucson, AZ. I was depressed, had anxiety and was isolating. I also had a heart attack in June of 2017, and to top it all off, I was really really enjoying my wine–way too much.
In rehab is where I learned I am an alcoholic. This was much harder for my family and friends to accept, than myself to admit. I left Sierra Tucson and came home, scared as Hell, but also equipped with lots of tools for me to tackle this new life of mine! I am learning along the way-
that this is MY journey- and no-one elses. I go to meetings- which I LOVE, and I have a “job” there. Yes, I have slipped and Yes- it’s OK- its all part of my story. When I said, my sewing was a blessing in disguise- what started as a hobby, has turned into much more than that- and keeps me busy doing what I love- not that I don’t love the diner business- I have been very fortunate over the years, and I have more time to Sew! That is how SoberSewist.com came about!
Have you thought about what YOUR Journey is? Are YOU doing what you love? I have come to find out- life is way too short to not do what you love! So, please take the time to think about this- it’s important and its YOUR Journey, what path are you taking?
~Carol xo