My 81-year-old mother broke her hip a couple of weeks ago (when in bed, no less) and the surgery and recovery have been a roller-coaster ride of emotions. In the past, I’ve turned to my knitting in times of stress, so I am surprised that I’ve had little desire to knit. Because I feared she might not survive the surgery, my fingers wouldn’t hold the needles while I kept my father company in the waiting room. As she drifted in and out of awareness in the days that followed, I was too distracted and on edge. In retrospect, I think that I was afraid that I might not keep on top of her early recovery if I let myself drift into a knitting calm. It may also be that knitting is too closely related to work for me and I needed a complete break.
Thankfully, my mother is now settled in a nursing home and I’ve at least partially settled back into knitting—there are still times when my mind wanders and my fingers forget to form the stitches. But I did finish a simple triangular shawl out my spindle-spun yarn (the fleece was a gift from Anne in Reading, PA). I didn’t have enough yarn to include a lace pattern across the top edge, but I was lucky to end with a complete pattern repeat and 6” of yarn to spare.
I’ve also swatched another lace pattern (shown below) with Quince & Co Tern for either a scarf or shawl. I’ll ponder the possibilities when I visit my dear sweet mum today.
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6 comments:
I'm so sorry to hear about your mother. That is really rough. I've just come through a nearly three year spell of dealing with my sister-in-law's terminal illness (she got a transplant and is doing fine) and have long maintained that the caretakers need counseling as much, if not more than the actual patients.
Sounds like you probably did need a break from knitting for a bit. Hopefully you came back to it feeling a bit fresher.
I'm sending LOTS of mental hugs in your general direction. I'll keep your mother in my thoughts as well.
Hope your mother is doing better. I remember those days from helping my folks through their last few years. Knitting will resume when you are up to it. You'll find the pleasure in it again soon, I'm sure.
May your mother heal and grow stronger and spend years enjoying life, with what is clearly a devoted family around her.
I'm so sorry to hear of your Mom's problems, but glad to hear that surgery went well. When my father had a 'brain bleed' almost two years ago, I went to the hospital armed with my sock knitting. I could NOT do it! I still have those socks sitting in a bag unfinished. My knitting mojo came back, but it took awhile! I hope you can find some peace in your knitting soon and that your Mom will continue to mend.
Your mother and your family are in my prayers. I have yet to deal with illness with my parents but walked beside my parents as they delt with my grandparents aging. Sometimes, just being and having time to think is what gets us through.
Hoping that your mother fully recovers and I just wanted to say that I totally understood your comments about not knitting during the hospital and surgery time. I have been surprised at myself as well, that I resist picking up the needles during moments of stress, which you would think would be the opposite. The lovely thing is that my knitting bag sitting next to me provides me comfort just knowing it's there when I DO need it and feel that I can pick it up again.
Really enjoyed meeting you in the Brown Sheep store, was it this spring? Time has started to blur for me a bit. Hope your mother is doing well and you also. Take care.
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