Everybody and their mother are knitting. They’re making fabulous, textured scarves, adorable baby hats and ultra-durable dishcloths. They all claim it is a marvelous way to unwind and relax.
When I announce that I am thinking of taking up knitting to unwind and relax, family members look at me like I said I am going skydiving.
The color drains out of our oldest daughter’s face. “Are you sure knitting is for you, Mom?”
“Why wouldn’t it be?” I ask.
“A lot of people who knit are, well, maybe a little more laid-back than you are.”
“Are you saying I can’t be laid back? Watch me,” I say. “I’m going to be laid back right now. Go ahead, get a stopwatch. Time me!”
“It’s just that most people sit when they knit, and you’re not really known for sitting.”
“Then I can knit standing up,” I snap.
Someone else says, “Doesn’t knitting involve long needles? Who in this room thinks that Mom should have long needles when she’s relaxing?”
The entire mob yells, “Never!”
So maybe I’ve had a few bad experiences when it comes to relaxing.
The last time I tried relaxing involved making jewelry. The creative expression was supposed to help me unwind, relax and find satisfaction in creating something with my hands.
Every time I was finally about to get a small charm threaded on a small chain, someone would barge in and ask if my new hobby was relaxing.
“How would this be relaxing?” I responded through clenched teeth. “I’m working with teeny, tiny tweezers, trying to hook a teeny, tiny charm on a teeny, tiny chain. What I have here is a great big teeny, tiny mess.”
I lost sleep, had eye strain and a dull headache. I gathered up all my tools of relaxation and sent them to my sister-in-law, who actually knows what she’s doing and enjoys it.
I’ve tried baking for relaxation, but it comes with a cost. About five pounds.
I even attempted yoga. The instructor recommended pants that were incredibly expensive. I just don’t have it in me to buy expensive pants then roll around on the floor in them. I was tense before my first downward dog.
Friends of ours bought a big RV to travel around the country in for the ultimate in relaxation. Their first trip out, the husband forgot to do all the pre-trip inspection and adjustments on the vehicle, and they wound up waiting by the side of the road for a mechanic from 2 until 4 a.m.
They drove 120 miles not speaking to one another.
Maybe the quiet was relaxing.
I briefly toyed with a Cricut, a machine that die cuts stencils you can use on big slabs of wood to create lovely signs.
One of the kids spotted a Cricut advertisement on the kitchen counter and said, “Walk away, Mom, just walk away.”
Some people simply weren’t made for relaxing.