When I chose the theme of “time” for November, thinking about the clocks going back, little did I realise how emotive the subject could be, until I started writing this blog…
Think about all the songs you know which feature time in their titles: If I Could Turn Back Time (Cher); Time After Time (Cyndi Lauper); Time (Pink Floyd); The Times They Are a-Changin’ (Bob Dylan) Every Time You Go Away (Paul Young); I could go on and on! I imagine that most of us have a special song with a reference to time included in it.
And if time is important to songwriters, it’s also very important to each and every one of us, sometimes to the good, sometimes not so good. How much time do we waste every day on things that are just not that important? Social media comes to mind particularly: a force for good sometimes, but it can eat into your precious time in a destructive way too.
For the families of Super Brave children, once they have a diagnosis of cancer, time becomes the overriding demand. It commands their complete attention: appointment times; time spent travelling to and from appointments; time spent on oncology wards; time between treatments; time waiting in hope for results; and the question they hardly dare ask sometimes: how long?
At Supershoes, everyone, from our Super Artists and Super Volunteers, to our Trustees and sponsors understands that time is a precious gift, and I feel blessed that my team is so generous in donating their time to us to help empower the children and young people who so need empowering at this time in their lives.
I wanted to share with you all a flavour of how much time it takes to create a pair of Supershoes. And who better to ask but the Super Artists themselves? Here’s a flavour of what they said:
“I take between 10-15 hours, which includes juggling full-time work, a face-painting business, 2 kids, a dog and a gym regime, plus all the other usual stuff. 2-3 hours per side at least.”
“As long as you have that time to spend, and you want to spend it in that way, then it’s not excessive.”
“I take forever. Honestly, forever, but it’s something I want to do. There’s no minimum/maximum. I just try to do my best.”
“I leave myself the best part of two weekends. I’ll happily sit for 8 hours a day!”
“I work full time to I try to squeeze in painting in the evenings. Sometimes I’m lucky to get a bit of time at the weekend if the little ones are being kept occupied by Daddy.”
“I can easily spend 10-20 hours on a pair depending on the brief and how much time I get alone (4 daughters and a business to run). As long as they’re back by the deadline I don’t think any amount of time is excessive. It’s time well spent to me. I love doing them.”
Aren’t they a fabulous bunch? They’re so generous with their time and talent, I sometimes can’t believe we’re this lucky to have them all on board! And of course, you can add in the time allocating shoes, posting them out, checking requirements with parents, arranging delivery of Supershoes to Super Brave children with cancer into the mix too.
Time certainly is a precious gift, isn’t it? And it’s particularly precious than when it’s spent creating the gift of Supershoes!
With peace, love and gratitude
Sarah