I set to work on my project the very next day and gathered scenes of my life here and there. Although I wanted to complete it, I also knew that giving myself a deadline would make it a chore. I decided to give myself a break and just pick it up whenever the mood took me. Thinking about it in those early days, and knowing I could do it if I wanted to, was enough.
I didn’t intend to take a whole year over it but, here we are. Having taken a whole year, I’ve decided not to string the process out any further. Here are all seven photos.
Starting at the beginning, here is Photo 1:
Loppers and bow saw
The other aspect of this photo, as I’ve mentioned, is being outdoors. Prior to my involvement in conservation volunteering I didn’t even own a pair of walking boots or a decent waterproof. Bit by bit this is something I have rectified and, although you won’t find me charging up a mountain with a compass, I now consider myself an outdoorsy sort.
Photo 2:
Stacked books
It’s not just the subject of this photo that has meaning for me but the setting too. The books are sitting on a chair in my local public library. The importance that this building holds for me can be summed up in a couple of lines from an unlikely philosophical source:
“This is my church. This is where I heal my hurts.” (Faithless, 1998)
While not a huge building, my local library is invaluable. It is where I go each week to mix with people who are different yet the same. It helps me learn, have fun and belong. It hosts the quietest of miracles, every day, plus some noisy ones when all the toddlers are in residence. It makes me care about the place I live and those with whom I share it. I’m so lucky to have it.
Photo 3:
Clash of the carpets
I love them. I look at this woollen psychedelia and I see thrown-together dinners eaten by the fire, strolls round the garden and chats in the kitchen while peeling veg. I see a home that is always open for business.
Photo 4:
Embroidered words of care
I wanted to include this image not only as a reminder of those kind tasks done and appreciated but because of the power and importance of the words themselves. It’s how I want to live my life.
Photo 5:
Pine cones
I have a lot to say about her but I think for now I will let these two little pine cones do the talking. They were a feature of her cage for nearly four whole years and now they are a feature of our mantelpiece. A reminder of a wonderful little hedgehog who changed our lives for the better. Having cared for her will forever be a part of who I am.
Photo 6:
Frost and flowers
Had it all worked out I think we would have made ourselves a lovely new home together. As it happens, it didn’t work out, and yet it did, if you see what I mean. Twelve months on, we have warmth and we have shelter, which we always had. We just wanted more of it.
Instead, we are doing more with what we already have, particularly the garden. To be fair, my BeechBumb has done most of the doing. My role is to look on approvingly while shuffling tiny onions around in pots.
One of the things he has done is put in an L-shaped raised bed. The photo does not show the raised bed itself, rather the space in front of it. We toyed with what to call this space and then realised that it was not dissimilar to the crook of an elbow. The L-Bow is what it became.
Though the frost and flowers are pretty, this photo is about togetherness. Making things together, be it gardens or puns, and being thankful.
Photo 7:
Tape measure
Initially, I used them for small childhood sewing projects. That’s where the one in the photo comes from. My grandparents gave it to me as part of a sewing kit that I still use today.
More recently I have regarded the humble tape measure in a more abstract sense. If you can quantify things, in numbers, words or pictures, you can record them. Making a note of details for posterity is one of my favourite things. I like to think this tape measure symbolises a little bit of what makes me “me”.
However, I couldn’t write about tape measures without referencing the one that I bought from B&Q for 50 pence in 2003. It was very green, as was I, studying for a degree in occupational therapy. I’m not quite sure what I thought the future held. In all honesty, I probably tried to think about it as little as possible. That’s why I went to university in the first place: to put off any major decision making for another three years. Still, that bright green tape measure accompanied me when I embarked on my first job as a qualified occupational therapist, and my second. It was there when I dropped out and it was there when I dropped back in again. It was the tool of my trade and was always in my pocket. I may not be working right now but I still carry a tiny tape measure with me “for emergencies”.
Working as an occupational therapist taught me the importance of assessment. You can’t know what to do if you don’t understand what you are dealing with. One way to understand is to observe and to measure. My retractable ruler allowed me to determine the height of stair rails and toilet seats. However, I picked up a few other tools along the way; tools that allow me to assess the less tangible elements of the world. This has helped me in my life immeasurably.
The term “occupational therapy” regularly confuses people. I find the best way to describe it is to start by breaking down occupation itself. For most people, that means a job. In the world of occupational therapy, occupation is anything that a person might do. Anything at all. Going dancing, brushing your teeth, getting the bus to school, etc., etc. The times that you struggle with these things are the times when you might engage with occupational therapy. I hope this goes some way to explain the title I gave this post. To explain the rest of the title I would like to tell a short story:
I was working two or three days a week as an occupational therapist and spending the rest of my time doing something else (I forget what). I was probably on a temporary contract and didn’t feel particularly bonded to the profession at that time. I visited someone at home and they introduced me as “the occasional therapist”. I opened my mouth to correct them before realising they had just given the most accurate description of me that anyone ever could.
I am Katie. Sometimes employed. Always occupied. Occasionally a therapist.