Knitting Therapy #4

Knitting at the movies. 
Going to the movies is a great family activity for many people.  It has been a treat for our family to go to the local theater together for a long time.  And, being a small town, we almost always see friends there too.  Seeing the movies together has always given us good discussion topics with each other.  I like to think that our willingness to show an interest in their entertainment has kept us closer to our children.  Where is it written that being a Parent inherently means that you cannot possibly share common interests with your Kids?  And no, I do not mean that Parents should Act like Kids or try to Be Kids......

When our kids were little, I usually had one sitting on my lap, or holding my hand or something that occupied my hands while we were there.  I'm thinking we probably went to the shorter movies back then too.  Somewhere along the line, I started becomming anxious at movies and had problems sitting still.  I began to dread everything about the movies; driving there, waiting in line, sitting through the previews, the time involved .......  Especially if we drove to "The City" to one of the big Multi-Plex Theaters.  I realized that I was coming up with excuses to not go with DH & the Kids.  OMG!  I was becoming that lady that we know that is proud of not having seen a movie in 20 years!

Then, I discovered that I can take my knitting with me to the movies.  It has to be a project geared toward knitting in the dark.  It requires the use of "silent" needles and techniques that don't involve big hand or arm movements.  Big yarn, bamboo needles, simple stitches, no pattern reading .........  With these givens, I can calmly ride for an hour, stand in line and wait in the theater for another hour and then relax through a three hour movie and watch all the way through the credits for the funny little extras that some tack onto the end.  AND an hour home.  Sometimes inculding a restaurant meal before or after.  So, anywhere from Two to Six hours of knitting time gained. 

Added bonus:  not eating nearly as many snacks or drinking as much expensive soda.  Calories and Dollars saved!  And, less caffeine late in the evening.  Why do movie theaters never have drinks with no caffeine and no sugar?

Counting Therapuetic Benefits #3

I knit so I don't kill people.  Well, maybe not quite.  But knitting does calm me down if I'm upset at somebody.  Much like prayer or meditation, knitting is rythmic, repetative, and calming.  Tai Chi is really big slow movements that can be calming.  I think (the right kind of ) knitting can lower heart rate and blood pressure.  It's a life raft in stormy seas.  I even sometimes have the feeling of the aunts that taught me sitting right there with me.  Their patience soothing.  The Rose Milk scent on the air.  The love cradling my being.  For a hyper kid to sit still for even a moment was a miracle, and those women had the secret.  They made magic from sticks and hooks and strings.  And they listened to the woes of the day, the hurts of the playground.  In a short time, those hurts and woes didn't seem so big anymore.  Forgiveness felt better.  Rage seemed to be a waste of time when fingers could create magic.