Can you live a creative life if you aren't crafty?

I've joked that I have ADD of Craft.

What I mean is that I may WANT to knit, crochet, paint, sculpt, sew, or whatever-it-is-the-other-cool-moms-are-doing, but I can't.

No, really, I can't.

Let's take crocheting as an example, although I could replace that word with "knitting", "rug-hooking" or even "cross stitching": I decide to give it a go and buy all the supplies: the hooks, the yarn, the how-to book. I sit down and start to crochet. I get pretty good at making a long, skinny snake. But, after 10 minutes, I get hungry. I get thirsty. I want to check Twitter. My back hurts. My foot falls asleep. I get hungry again.

Guess where my crochet stuff is now? On a shelf, collecting dust.

My newest desire is a sewing machine. I could make so many cool things if only I had a sewing machine!

But, I know better.

I know I'll make a couple of dolls for the kids, maybe even sew something useful, like a curtain. And then I'll get distracted, bored, stabbed by the needle. It'll go from being fun and interesting to a chore in the blink of an eye.

Why is this?

I can sit with a book for hours and read, read, read. But drag me to a store to look at yarn or, god forbid, fabric, and I'll weep like a hungry two year old. I still remember being dragged to a craft store with my mother and wanting to lie down on the dirty floor and take a nap while her and my sister oohed and ahhed over sequins or buttons.

But, I still want my kids to be surrounded by creativity despite my shortcomings.

So I'll pour my heart into creating themed birthday parties. We will celebrate holidays that aren't ours by religion or ethnicity. My natural tendency to abandon ship kicks in right around the time the holiday or party is over, so it's a win-win for us all.

This weekend, for instance, we'll celebrate Purim even though we aren't Jewish. I'll read the story of Esther to them, I'll make Robin's Hamentaschen and the kids' can dress up in their old Halloween costumes.

In a couple of weeks, I'll throw my newly 7-year-old a Rock Star party and will go all out with crafts and games. I'll have fun planning it, but will be so glad when it's over.

But, no matter what I chose to do, you can be assured it won't involve a knitting needle or shiny new sewing machine.