Panning for Gold: What are you waiting for? ~ Elizabeth

What are you waiting for? Finding positivity in adversity

My name is Elizabeth. I was diagnosed with breast cancer three years ago aged 43. After all my surgery and treatment I thought the journey was over and that the worst was behind me. But having had breast cancer is such a frightening experience and I know from speaking to others and through The BRiC Centre Private Group that I am not alone in the anxieties and fears I carry. Fears about my future, my children’s future, about keeping well.

It’s all too easy to focus on the negatives in life beyond cancer treatment. But having cancer also brought good things and I wanted to share something really positive that came from my diagnosis nearly three years ago. Cancer gave me an insight into how precious life is. It taught me not to take things for granted. That the time to do it, whatever it might be, is now. And every time I thought of something I wanted to do, it made me ask myself "what are you waiting for?"

I work in the child protection/legal field and when I returned to work I found it very stressful. Not just because of the work but because of the worries I face every day and the side effects of the prior and on-going treatment.

I realised that I wanted life to be about more than cancer, work and being a mum. I wanted something for me, something mindful and relaxing.

So having put it off for my whole adult life, I decided to pursue my dream. I reduced my work hours and started a course on fused glass on a Thursday night last January. I took a 16 week course called Warm Glass at City of Glasgow College and when that finished I was so ‘hooked’ that I began to attend an open studio night at Stained Glass Supplies in Glasgow even attending during the day in the summer holidays when the open studio night was on holiday too. The guys in the studio were endlessly patient with my never ending questions and requests!

I am now, 16 months later, the proud owner of my own kiln and my husband and I worked together over the past few months to create my own home studio in the garage. It's the most rewarding and enjoyable hobby and most importantly, it is relaxing and instantly washes away the stress of any day. I am just at the beginning of this new journey with glass, learning new things every day, and now with some friendly sales and craft fairs under my belt, who knows where the future will take me?