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Thanksgiving, Again?

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day in the U.S.  Although Canadians celebrated this holiday in October we are impacted by the U.S. November holiday.  Canadian stores are advertising sales for Black Friday in an effort to keep holiday shoppers here even though it isn't a holiday here.  I will be missing out on all of this.

Instead I will spend the day flying to Minneapolis.  A very special little girl will be celebrating her first birthday over the weekend (yes, the celebration is after the fact, but her mom and dad decided to celebrate when family is in town).

There was a cake smash.
When I first got the invitation and RSVP'd that I would not be able to attend, I was disappointed, sad and perhaps a wee bit angry with myself.  This festered until I just decided I had to be there, purchased a ticket and started making plans.  So while most U.S. citizens are working off a turkey- with-all-the-fixings hangover on Thursday afternoon, I will be landing in Minneapolis and walking to the condo.  How lucky am I to have the ability to attend a very first birthday party for my grand daughter.  Which gets me to being thankful.

In November 2012 I put together a list of 20 some things I am thankful for in my life.  That list can be seen here.  It is very fortunate that nothing on the list has changed over the past two years.  Even my parents have their tickets purchased to spend several month in the greater Phoenix area again this winter.

Today, however, I want to be seriously thankful for knitting and what it has done for me over the years.  Here's a few life lessons it has reinforced.

  1. Patience -  Making anything by hand takes time, think weeks, months or years to come together. Creating something one stitch at a time forces the conscientious knitter to remain calm and patient.  
  2. Tenacity - Although knitting can be what might appear to be calming it also can contain moments of frustration.  The conscientious knitter needs to expect these moments and develop coping mechanisms to work through them.  Stubbornness or tenacity sure helps.
  3. Pure Joy - There is no feeling to compare with conquering a challenge in knitting or just about any difficult endeavor and yet words do not describe the emotions when something thought to be near impossible is actually completed.
  4. Companionship - Knitting has brought many wonderful people into my life.  The people working at my LYS are friends, the Knit Night gals, and others who I have yet to meet; we all have an instant bond when we talk about knitting.  There are also all the people I know only through cyberspace, we too can bond about one topic.
  5. Something to Count On - Don't get me wrong, I have many people I can count on.  Knitting however is something I have chosen for myself that I most often do by myself.  I can count on it to be ready for a ride in whatever mode of transportation I choose, or happily spend time in the doctor's or bureaucratic waiting room, and it will sit up with me in the middle of the night if I ask it to.  
  6. Enrich Life - How can anything that adds so much motivation, inspiration, colour and softness into one's life be anything but enriching.  The satisfaction of working with yarn and wool is a gift all in itself and it doesn't add pounds.
  7. Support a Good Life Philosophy - Knitting has reinforced some very solid life lessons like the following:
    • Mistakes are lessons from which one can recover.  Don't worry about making them.
    • When one does make a mistake, fess up right away and fix it.  Don't think the mistake won't be noticed, you will always know about it.
    • Persistence is what will get you to your goal.
    • Frustration or a couple glasses of wine rarely improve a difficult situation.
    • Absence does help the heart grow fonder.  Sometimes taking a break is the best thing to do.
    • Keep challenging yourself; it is good to keep that gray matter between the ears working.
  8. Importance of a Good Friend - Knitting likes to do everything I do.  We like the same TV shows and movies, we like travelling together.  Why one could easily argue we are the best of friends and we are.
As I wing my way back to my grand daughter, her family and friends as well as my own, I won't be alone because my constant (and I do mean constant) companion will be with me.  ~~Knitting~~
Have a great Thanksgiving my U.S. friends!

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