Last week I posted on my friend’s wall that I couldn’t support her in Cornelius’ Corepower torture chamber because I would be at a crafting event all weekend.  Astutely, she replied, “In college, I never thought I would ever hear your name and crafting in the same sentence.”  And she’s right.  It’s not my thing.  Nothing sounds worse than weaving or sewing or gluing or pasting.  Except maybe doing it on a stationary bike in a sweaty hot room with DeBarge blasting and my kids whining.  But, there are things I would do for my boys that I would not do for any man in college.  So I agreed to meet my girlfriend and expert crafter, Kelly with her three kids at Karen Kimmel and Stacy Bernstein’s annual Crafting Community event at the Ace hotel in Palm Springs. At first it was an excuse for some bonding time with my oldest and middle son, but it turned into one of the greatest weekends I’ve had in a long time.   Oh, and the kids had fun too.

An outrageously talented team of artists, mothers, and pretty much “mind readers on what would make a mother in her 40’s feel like she was in heaven,”  took over the entire hotel and filled each inch with thought, heart and passion.  From the moment you arrived, you were bombarded with gifts from LA’s coolest “artsy mom shops.”  It was like being a guest on “Oprah’s Favorite Things” episode. Once you and your kids are done “oohing and awing” over all the cool shit packed tight in your gifted, brand new TOMS Bag (translation: kids fight, punch,  grab,  and steal for gems they must have but will never touch again), you head downstairs to an enormous “Fiesta Dinner” followed by an ice cream party sponsored by the impossibly delicious Salt and Straw. To close out your first night is an epic, cut throat, family Bingo game with over the top prices by Sprinkles Cupcakes, Undefeated, TOMS, Salt and Straw, and tons more.

Saturday morning started with a 7am ride in the pop up Soul Cycle studio overlooking the hotel pool. Angela Davis, whose classes sell out in seconds, was there three times a day guiding us on a perfectly suited 45 minute inspirational ride to physical strength and mental well-being.  I was definitely not in the “instructor as spiritual guide” camp before I met her.  But I have to say, I do agree with her that “I’m too blessed to stress.” At least I was while I was there. She really is THAT good. UNDEFEATED also hosted circuit training classes all day.  There were skateboarding clinics, yoga classes, hip hop classes, underwater photography classes, and I haven’t even MENTIONED a craft yet!!!

The crafts were RIDICULOUS.  Totally over the top, drop dead gorgeous.  This was not your basic “lets make lanyards and sing Kumbaya” crafts.  This was “I’m a serious artist and you and your toddler get to join my world for two days while I run around sweating my ass off to make sure every kid and grown up is happy” kind of craft .  This was real leather jewelry. Weaving that retails for hundreds of dollars. And if only I were high, really really high, I could have joined all the blissful mommies who sat there for hours weaving their way to happiness.

But I wasn’t. So I didn’t.  I did find my own nirvana. It wasn’t necessarily bonding WITH my kids. They pretty much wanted nothing to do with me from the second we arrived. We were more like young toddlers co-playing.  NEAR each other, but not WITH each other. Both groups completely happy and content with what we were doing and only slightly aware of the other person’s presence. There were lots of moments of bliss.  But I think my favorite was spinning on a Saturday night as the sun went down watching my kids wrestling and laughing in the pool below making the perfect amount of noise and not causing any judgement or sideways glance from the host of other like minded parents that know sometimes “fun” is “loud.”  And “wrestling” is the boy equivalent to “cuddling. ”

The weekend was pricy ($2,300.00), but when I looked around at all that was offered, it seems impossible that anyone, except the Ace hotel and my massage therapist,  actually made money.  It was clearly a labor of love and an opportunity to bring families and a community together. I didn’t make it to the Desert Disco, but like my kids consoled me in the morning, “There’s always next year mom.”

I can’t wait!