The Writing Experiment

Late Night Jammy Knitting

I've read over the years that journaling is a good way to beat stress in one's life. We could all use a little stress relief, right? So I figure what the hee-haw, I'll give it a go!  I shall dub thee, "The Writing Experiment"...

I have a 15 minute window every morning where the kiddo has gotten on the school bus, the hubster is on his way to work and not in cell phone range to call me, and I am quiet and alone. It's my coffee time. My time to think about what I need to accomplish for the day versus what I want to accomplish for the day. Why not take that time, instead, to write about something positive? To give myself a little gift of a happy thought before I tackle dirty dishes, messes left for me to discover, and the age-old question of what the heck to wear!

Last night I stayed up when everyone else went to bed. I felt like I needed to get a certain portion of a pattern repeat done on one of my current commissions, just so I could feel on top of it. About 11:30 found me curled up in my spot on the sofa, comfy jammies on, television off (for once!), with my knitting in hand. A little Van Morrison on Ye Olde iPhone and I was set!

It was only an hour. A tiny speck of time in my day. Yet about halfway through the time I realized just how wonderful it was. No one needing me for anything. I could work at my pace without having to stop, get up, and take care of someone else's needs or wants. It was quiet. No television blaring, drowning out my thoughts and reflections (have I mentioned that, outside of my handful of shows, I'm really not a TV person?). It was peaceful. No conversations to keep up with. For that stretch of time I was completely and totally MYSELF. It's amazing how little you get to do that as a wife and mother. Just give yourself over to yourself, focus solely on what you want to do.

I didn't get much accomplished in my hour. I met my goal - a quarter of a pattern repeat. I thought, at first, of shooting for half of a pattern repeat. Then a mis-stitch in the first row resulted in my having to frog and rework said row. After fixing that I realized that knitting wasn't my main goal in deciding to stay up and knit. Having some quiet to unwind and not worry about anything was. So I stuck with the original idea of a quarter of a repeat, finished it up, and went to bed.

I went to sleep much easier than normal. The ever-present tension in my neck and shoulders was on a much lower scale. My over-stressed brain wasn't making lists of what needed to be done today. I may not have gotten enough sleep (5 hours isn't enough, let's face it!). I may have started my day off as chock full of stress as usual (The hubster hitting his snooze for an hour, the kiddo being unable to use any motor skills other than that of rapid-fire speech, the dog whining to go out, etc.). But it was still different. I was looking forward to my 15 minute window for writing. All so I could share my hour of blissful, peaceful solitude.