And Another Month Flies By

Just like that, we're into the middle of November! The gift knitting is going on, and the baking of seasonal favourites has begun. It seems that as the days get darker, they get shorter, and time seems to zoom by.

It's been a hectic month since I last posted. There was that diagnosis thing, then a great vacation, then home to a house full of puppeteers, then Halloween, then…well…CRASH AND BURN. My rheumatologist gave me as steroid shot to get me through the holiday…

…which was awesome.

We walked on the beach in Ventura every day…

We went to Universal Studios for a day…

Then we went back for Halloween Horror Nights…

We picked up Miss Lexi and her fine young man at the airport and went down to Disneyland…

…where we went to Mickey's Halloween Party…

…and had an all-around fabulous time.

I kept up remarkably well, considering the shape I've been in for the past few months. I now totally understand why athletes turn to steroids for performance enhancement. I felt relatively superhuman for the couple of weeks that stuff was in my system.

Coming home was another matter. I kept up the superhuman thing for another week, but by the first weekend of November the steroids had worn off and pure exhaustion had set in. So, for the last couple of weeks, there has been much sitting and knitting and navel gazing. I am charting a new life for myself, rearranging priorities, and shuffling responsibilities. And knitting. A lot of knitting.

UFOs are getting finished, Christmas gifts are finished, socks are being churned out. My medications are starting to work, and I am starting to adapt to their side effects. And, yesterday, for the first time in weeks (months!), I sat down at the spinning wheel. I had no idea how much I missed it! It was like being set free after months in captivity. The treadling did my stiff ankles in after an hour or so, but I felt like a great weight was lifted the moment I started drafting. Today, I managed almost 2 hours and I'm planning another hour before dinner. I'm BACK.

As I spin, I am gaining back the confidence that this illness and the months of pain had drained. I am having moments of clarity and perspective that I had lost while mired in pain. I am relaxing, and accepting. And I'm making beautiful yarn.

I had forgotten that spinning could be so therapeutic. It had almost become a chore, making samples for articles, teaching rules and precision, doing production work for hours on end. Spinning is not a necessity in today's world, it is a pleasure, and with my busy schedule, I had forgotten that.

I still have article samples to spin, and I will continue to teach, but I will also remember that there is sheer joy and peace to be found in the rhythm of the wheel and the drift of soft wool between your fingers. I will be making yarn for the simple sake of making yarn today.

And tomorrow.