Finding the crochet hook again!

I have never been much good at sitting and doing nothing! As a little girl, I loved to be doing something with my hands, and so begged my mother to teach me to knit. She would patiently pick up all the dropped stitches while I waited, impatient to start the next row. She then taught me to crochet and to embroider. If I wasn't doing one of those three things, I would have my head in a book - always doing something.

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I'm still the same - I like to have plenty to do. I can't bear to watch TV without doing something with my hands. I eagerly look forward to the evenings when I can sit in my very comfortable recliner and work on some embroidery. Truth is I probably listen to TV more than I actually watch it.

So now my life circumstances are very different. I have a husband in care that I love to visit. He is still aware of who I am, so I want to spend as much time with him each week as is possible while that is the case.

But conversations aren't really possible. Hubby is much less verbal now and when I prattle on about people and incidents, I am aware that he really doesn't know who or what I am talking about.

He still has a great 'music memory'. Evidently that is deep-seated in the brain and so he hasn't lost that, so most days we go to his room and I play a CD or music DVD and sit with him. He usually engages well with the music and he loves to 'conduct' the orchestra or tap his feet or whistle the tunes.

So I have had to think of what I can DO while visiting him, apart from sitting still, listening to music. Embroidery is difficult for me without very good lighting and it's not so easy to manage cottons, needles and scissors and to write down pattern details when I'm not at home. I have worn out the cartilage in my thumbs so haven't been able to knit for a very long time as bone rubbing against bone is not very pleasant. So it was time to find the crochet hook again!

When I looked in the linen cupboard I found a pile of new washers and hand-towels - just the thing to pretty-up with the crochet hook. A simple shell edging requires not much concentration, can be done under any lighting, and becomes more or less automatic after you are a short way along the row.

Then it has been a great opportunity to make a few things for our second great-grand-daughter who arrived safely into the world a couple of days ago! Some pretty bootees and a couple of headbands required a bit more attention to the pattern, but I love crochet because if you make a mistake, a quick pull of the yarn and it is all undone without tiresome unpicking!

What I have found is that I am actually spending much more quality time with hubby than I ever did when he was home! With no TV to interrupt, and with gentle music in the background, we just sit together enjoying each other's company. The bonus is that I am finding it very relaxing to have a crochet hook in my hand again and the gift box is accumulating some pretty items.

God bless you all.

Val