What We Do to Get By

My granny used to love bingo. When she lived in the senior citizen apartment complex they had a weekly van to take the residents to play. My father hated it and took every opportunity to tell his mother what a waste of time and money it was. But she was undeterred. I told Daddy that he should get off her back. Everybody has a thing, a hobby, something they do to get by. I figured that as long as her bills were paid, food was in the fridge and she wasn't drunk or high, then her bingo couldn't be that bad. He thought about what I said , acknowledged that I was right and asked me what my thing was. I told him it was none of his business and we both had a laugh.

A good hobby allows you to lose yourself in the details. I've never been able to sit in quiet meditation or prayer without my mind racing all over the place. I never undertood what people were talking about when they said "clear your mind." Even in my sleep I worry. But crochet and knitting force me to focus on one stitch at a time. My dear husband's thing is golf, something in which I cannot share even a slight interest. But we discovered that though our hobbies are far different, we are attracted to the same thing - being in the moment.

Golf and crochet force you to concentrate on the here and now. If your mind wanders mid-swing the shot will go haywire. If I obsess over bills, appointments, dinner menus, or curricula while I'm crocheting I'll mess up my stitches. Then I'll have to pull out my work and start over. I love when I fall into a zone with a stitch pattern. It has to be complicated enough to hold my interest but not so difficult as to be frustrating. Once I memorize the pattern - double, double, chain, chain, double, double, single, repeat - I can tune out everything else and follow the flow. It's very Zen. Until, of course, I'm interupted by a crash, scream or a sentence that starts with, "Where's my..."

My obsession with fiber arts is fairly new. I like to think of myself as an eclectic person. I've flirted with interests in soapmaking, sewing, linguistics, history, classic literature, science fiction, and more. Some would call this flightiness but I think maintaining varied interests is healthy. The most fascinating people I've ever known have all been jacks of all trades. After all, high-level specialization wasn't always the norm. There was a time when life required most folks to know how to do most things for themselves. Besides, who would you rather be stuck talking to at a party - the renaissance man or the specialist?

Still, I'm pretty sure that crochet and knitting will keep me busy for a while since there is so much to learn. But I could see fencing and maybe capoeira in my future.