Life Past 30

Normally, I am a happy-go-lucky person who is balanced with serious and comedic qualities.  My mood swings are usually mild and last for short periods of time, however, since Monday, I have been in a less-than-happy mood.  I am not sure if it was due to the end of the Thanksgiving holiday and coming back to work, hearing/watching the depressing news, or something else altogether.  Since Monday, the traffic has gotten under my skin more than usual and the multiple conversations on the bus have really gotten on my nerves.  However, I am happy to report this episode of intermittent irritation has finally come to an end.  I feel wonderful today and all feelings of wanting to be alone in a quiet place are gone.  Well, not completely, I still need my few hours to myself on the weekends.  I know that everyone goes through periods like or similar to this, but for me, it does not happen too often.  Perhaps I just need an extended break from the rat race to regroup or I need to run more since that relieves stress.  I am just glad to be feeling like myself again and am looking forward to the Christmas holiday and New Year’s Eve. 

Crocheting has been a main hobby of mine since the age of 11.  I can’t say what made me interested in it, but I do remember how I learned to do it.  It was the middle of the fifth grade for me and a fellow classmate of mine used to bring yarn and crochet hooks to school with her every day.  I had never seen anything like the hooks before and I became curious about their use.

One day at recess, I spotted her sitting alone on the playground behind our school crocheting, although I didn’t know what it was at the time.  I walked over to her and asked what she doing and she replied, without looking up, “I’m crocheting.”  She was going so fast, it was difficult to keep up with the movement of the hook as she made the yarn dance around it.  When I asked if she could teach me, she said she couldn’t, that she had learned from her grandmother, but I could watch if I liked.  Well, always being up for a challenge, I accepted the offer to watch.

Every day, for a month, I made it a point to watch her crochet during recess because I was determined to learn this oh-so-cool craft.  Guess what?  It worked!  When I felt confident enough in my ability to crochet, I asked my parents if they could buy some yarn and a crochet hook for me.  Of course, my mom looked surprised, but my dad just chuckled a little and told me he would take me to the store.  When I got the yarn and the hook, I played around with it until I had duplicated the hook movements of my classmate.  Eventually, I made a pink and white doily that my grandmother still has to this day.

Since that first project, I have crocheted everything from potholders to clothing.  It is a passion for me and one the few things I love to do.  When time permits, I will sit in a comfortable spot for 8 hours or more working on a single project.  Words cannot express how elated I am when I finish.  I love to crochet!