What Was I Doing?

My 11-year-old daughter received a "learn to crochet" kit about a year ago, and she dove right into the scarf project it contained. Within about a week, though, she had put it aside to focus on something else. The crochet kit sat untouched in her room, then somehow made it to her closet in a hidden corner.

A few weeks ago, when she was in one of her "I'm bored" moods, I suggested that she finish her crocheted scarf. She jumped at the thought, and before long had rediscovered the long-gone kit. Unfortunately, the passage of time had also caused the passing of her knowledge about the crochet process. Since the directions were also long gone, we looked up "how to crochet" online and refamiliarized ourselves with the procedure. After a few minutes of trying out the steps, she realized how poorly her first attempt had been. So she unraveled what little bit of the scarf she had completed so long ago and started over.

She crocheted madly, and soon she had completed a nice-looking belt rather than a scarf. No matter, it was cute, she liked it, and I helped her make some fringe. When she tried it on, she was hooked. (No pun intended!) "I want to make another one for Faith," she said, referring to her best friend. Within minutes, she had also decided to crochet a baby blanket for her cousin's soon-to-be-born baby, a scarf for the elderly widower across the street, and lots of belts to sell at school.

Clearly, she was on a roll. So when she begged me to take her shopping for more yarn, I obliged. I was just glad she was interested in something other than the TV or computer. We went to Hobby Lobby, and she bought baby yarn, some purple fluffy yarn for belts, a larger crochet hook, and an easy pattern book. She couldn't wait to get home and start on the projects.

She spent the rest of that afternoon wildly crocheting the baby blanket. She even worked on it in bed before falling asleep. The next day, Sunday, she crocheted more on the baby blanket, then stopped to start on the purple belt. Unfortunately, she quickly found out that the fuzzy yarn made it nearly impossible for her to see where she was placing the crochet hook, so she gave that one up. Back to the baby blanket for the rest of the day, when she wasn't playing or eating, that is.

The next day, being Monday, meant an end to the crocheting for a while. School and homework left no time for crafts. When Saturday rolled around, she slept late, then wanted to play outside. Then she wanted to read, to draw, to cook, and to talk on the phone. I gamely suggested that she pick up her crocheting while she watched TV, but she said, "Later." After a while, I gave up. And so, apparently, did she.

It's been over a month now, and the baby blanket is still unfinished. The purple yarn hasn't even been cut, and the belts were never made and sold. When I asked her about it, she said she wasn't interested in it any more.

Now, I suppose I could point fingers here and say she just can't stick to anything. But sometimes I run into the same problem. I have trouble sticking to my own projects, yet it's not for lack of interest. It's usually lack of time, and then lack of mental capacity! You see, if I don't work on a project for a while, I have trouble remembering how to do it. Like Amelia and her crocheting, I can't recall the process at worst, or where I left off at best.

This all leads to my reason for today's posting. I worked on the window seat today, and for the life of me, I couldn't remember what I was supposed to do. I knew I had been waiting for paint to dry (story of my life), but I knew I had bought some wood for something--but what? After cutting and fooling around with the stuff for about an hour, I finally remembered that the wood was to build some new support pieces for the seat top. Of course by then, I had cut it too short and couldn't use it.

I need about a month of vacation to spend undivided time on my projects, so I can compete them without forgetting what they are and how to do them! As I get older, my brain's rewind button just doesn't function as well as it used to. Perhaps it's lack of sufficient sleep or just plain aging. I guess it doesn't matter. What does matter is that I finish SOMETHING. Because there's always a new project waiting around the bend--if I can remember it.