I can't remember a time in my life when I didn't knit. I have this vague memory of lying in my crib staring at my mobile and trying to figure out if I could get the sticks and string apart. What I can't figure out, however, is why I love it so much? I've knit sweaters that didn't fit properly, didn't look quite the way I'd hoped or shrunk in the wash because I didn't do a test swatch. The most recent project in my knitting basket was a v-neck tank top. I usually do a test swatch and wash it to see how it holds up, this time I just threw caution to the wind and cast on the entire back and worked the pattern for 14". I did check the guage as I was knitting and it was exactly what it was supposed to be. I decided last night that I should actually see how it would wash. It shrunk 2 1/4" in length and grew 2" in width. How on earth does that happen? Craziness! And obviously the caution I threw to the wind came back and slapped me upside the head. (btw, you shouldn't spray paint into the wind either...just sayin') Yet....I don't give up. What's up with that?
I would like to think that I have gotten through a lot of difficulties because of this attitude. Some like to call it stubborn but I prefer to think of it as tenacious. Raising children alone takes a lot of perseverance. When there's no one to back you up on discipline, no one to relieve you from cooking, chauferring, doctoring, worrying, not to mention driver training you need a healthy dose of perseverance. I didn't always understand this, a lot of days it was just doing what needed to be done with no thought about it ever getting better or easier and then one day it just was. (and some days it still isn't even though they are 20 and 22-yes I know I look too young to have children that old) If you're raising children alone try not to let the difficulties take away from the joys. If you can't afford much, maybe you can buy a carton of icecream and some sprinkles and have a sundae night. If you don't know the right thing to do in a situation, do your best, your kids will know you care even if the decision you make isn't 100% right.
I may not understand my love of knitting and I may not understand why I ended up as a single parent but I know that I have some sweaters that are incredibly beautiful. I have given gifts of baby sweaters, slippers, mitts and scarves to friends who have been delighted. I've had many nights of feeling at peace as I knit my worries and care away and I have 2 great kids that I have been given the privilege of being a mom too.
I threw caution to the wind years ago when I decided that I wanted to be a mom and after many washes they still fit my life perfectly. Not every pattern will work out as you hoped it would, but how much richer will your life be if you try? Maybe do a test swatch first....learn from your mistakes.
Tomorrow we talk renos. Stay tuned for updates to the bathroom.
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