Diddle, diddle dumpling
my son John.
He went to bed with his socks on.
One shoe off and one shoe on.
Diddle, diddle dumpling
my son John!
I'm learning to knit socks. I have one sock done and another that is close to being finished but....I ran out of yarn.....and the yarn shop doesn't have anymore because the colorway I chose is unbeknown to me, discontinued. Sad story. One finished sock and one unfinished sock. The End.
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Oh come on! You know me better than that! It's not The End. Telephones and internet are a beautiful thing. You get on them and with the help of your local yarn shop you find a store that just happens to have a little bit of the yarn you're using left. Phew! The other sock, there is hope. Well, sort of and kind of. You see, I'm following the exact same pattern as the first and I'm thinking I'm knitting the second one just like the first only, it's not turning out like the first and there are holes where there shouldn't be holes and major flaws. So, I have declared it to be thus! Socks should have holes in them. I think I'll petition the government to make another holiday. February.....what IS today? Anyway, what ever today is, once a year we will celebrate Holey Sock Day!
I was thinking about my unfortunate pair of socks that really isn't a pair right now and I couldn't help but compare them to my life right now. When any young married couple starts out I don't think anyone dreams that when you're saying through sickness and health, bad times and good times, ya da ya da ya da that those bad times will ever come. Oh yeah! The flu. You bet. I've got your back but the really tough stuff. The stuff that lasts for years and hangs on......It'll never happen to me/us right?
I know The SM hates it when I get on here and blather about him but while looking at my socks I thought, "Hey! These are us!" One sock is working and the other....well. It's not quite functional yet. I mean it sort of is. You could put it on but your toes would hang out of the unfinished end. Rather useless though really and should be thrown away or yanked out and redone!
That's how it feels. When weekends and weeks pass like this past and I see The SM working himself to the bone taking care of all of us and I lay in bed for hours or on the couch I can't help but think to myself, "Why am I still here? There have been several times in the last few years where I was pretty darn close to the brink but here I still am. It sure would be a lot easier on this family and The SM if I would just be done with it. That way he could remarry and have a little help around the place........." Just being honest. That is how I feel sometimes.
This is where I embarrass The SM. Most men would have left by now. I'm sorry but it's true! And yet day after day he takes care of us all without one word of complaint and whips my hind end into shape when I start thinking the above thoughts.
So, looking at my mismatched pair of socks I think, "Okay Rachel. You've got two choices. You can quit and throw the pair away, OR you can wait for the rest of the yarn, finish the other sock, and patch up the holes."
We're all a bunch of flawed unfinished socks if you think about it. Some of us more unfinished and flawed than others....thank goodness we know we can be finished and patched up someday! And in the meantime, thank goodness I have a sock that matches mine that someday will make a perfect unflawed pair!
OR you could go for option three and decide that it's not a pair of socks but a really cool Christmas stocking that needs a fabulous cuff on it. Who says there are only two options here? When life doesn't work out sometimes it's because we've been staring at our feet too long and need to look up and see what else is out there for us. Just sayen, . . .
ReplyDeleteYou are not going anywhere. Where would we be without your warmth charm and wit...Life is so frustrating but you better plan on sticking around.......Here is another option, start another sock while you are waiting for your yarn....and in a family of nine, you can always count on someone needing socks.
ReplyDeletei kind of like the lovely feet that go in the socks.
ReplyDeleteyes, keep knitting. never stop knitting. but if you do stop for a bit, not to worry, a pair of hands will appear and keep the knitting up until you feel like knitting again.
i like the analogy. i love you. :)
What a beautiful parable!
ReplyDeleteI hope your yarn gets to you soon so you can finish the sock.
First of all, that is an AWESOME looking sock! I am a sock-lover by nature and I must say that it is one of the finest, most cheerful-looking and colorful socks I have ever encountered.
ReplyDeleteSecond, let me say that there is a reason that most couples are so different. I think that the term 'opposites attract' is so true! We look for a partner who compensates for the things we are less adept at, whose strengths counter our weaknesses and vice versa. And that remains true through all of the challenges that come along.
I am fairly certain that your SM would rather have you at home, super-glued to the couch, than not there at all. Actually, I am absolutely certain. I bet you could go ask him and he'd back me up on that. Because when your feet are cold it's a heck of a lot better to have a mismatched, holey pair of socks than no socks at all.
Thank you, all of you for your kind words, your expounding on my 'parable', and your friendship.
ReplyDeleteEach of you have written your own parable to go along with mine and I like em. You've given me hope. Hope for great and better things to come.
Thank you.
You know how I feel - the same old way, without the nasty bugs in my system to make sense of my uselessness. Your metaphor begs to be carried further - we wear holes in ourselves, all having our own little style of walking. The sock wears thin in the places we tend to carry the weight. But here's a thought- you don't have to wait for the "right" yarn. Especially if it's just a toe - you can choose whatever color you want. Where, exactly, is the charm in matching sox? Especially when the first sock is such a melange?
ReplyDeleteAnd I think you're nuts anyway, as you know. To spend all that time making socks that you KNOW are going to wear through only too soon -
Socks look SO hard and fiddly to make! I think the one is lovely, and I'm sure the other will be too.
ReplyDeleteYou are wonderful, and I don't blame you for feeling that way sometimes, but it couldn't be farther from the truth. You're worth so much, and your SM obviously knows that. :)