Wed Sep 22, 2004

These are the times that try a woman’s soul

Yesterday was a very emotionally trying day. That happens sometimes when you have four girls in a house, all of whom are feeling contrary at once. So to balance the time and effort spent exercising tremendous self control in order to fulfill my role as the “adult” in the home, I spent a lot of time knitting on mom’s sweater and drinking hot chocolate. Sounds wonderful and fulfilling, doesn’t it? It would have been, were it not for the fact that it was done merely to restore/maintain my level of sanity through a challenging day. So while I feel gratitude for a hobby that is accommodating and relaxing on such days, I do not feel as indulged as I probably should.

When she wasn’t crying, screaming, or arguing with me, Olivia knit on her bunny.

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Doesn’t that look lovely and peaceful? Yes, we’re focusing on the positive right now.

She has lost some of the excitement associated with knitting a new project. I think she is disappointed that it is merely a square, so she’s knitting it in short spurts of a couple rows at a time. I continue to reassure her that once the square is done, we will cinch it up into a cute, shapely bunny, but the concept is a little hard for a 5 year old to grasp. I have confidence that after the first one is done, and she sees what actually happens to the boring old square, she will be more enthusiastic about knitting more. In the meantime, she lays the pattern out next to her whenever she knits. No, she can’t read, but it makes her feel better, and it’s really cute.

I’m a centimeter and a half away from the armhole shaping on mom’s sweater. I’m reminded of a blog entry I made at about this stage of the back. “This is the (front this time) that never ends…. No it goes on and on my friend. This poor girl, STARTED knitting it not knowing what it was, and she’ll continue knitting it forever just because it is the FRONT that never ends…” Gotcha!

5 Responses to “These are the times that try a woman’s soul”

  1. Jenny Says:

    Hmmmm…….I’d trade ya, but having a house full of males is NOOOOOOOOOo picnic!!! Gee, Olivia looks just like a “Precious Moments” doll in that photo!
    I know all about losing excitement in a knitting project today…..I finished my poncho, and , uh, hmmm, apparently needed mucho more increases, since the poncho doesn’t fit over my chub!!! Wish I could turn IT into a bunny!

  2. heather Says:

    I’m so impressed that your five year old daughter knits! Wait, of course she knits, she is my little sister…. =)
    She looks adorable knitting in that photo, and I’m sure she’ll love her finished project. And her friend will too.

  3. Laura Says:

    Jenny- Oof! Condolences. I hope it is fixable!

  4. Jenny Says:

    Thanks, Laura, I sure wish it was fixable, but sadly, I have to frog it. It SO did not meet my expectations! And to think that I set aside my daughter’s tank top to work on that poncho!!!

  5. Kerstin Says:

    Oooooo, I’ve seen that look on my Olivia’s face. 🙂 I have to say, it’s a bit easier parenting boys. Sure they are loud and fairly obnoxious at times but they aren’t on the emotional roller coaster that we’ve witnessed with Liv. Can’t imagine dealing with two more, that’s for sure! Hang in there . . .

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