pep talk courtesy of strangers

Sometimes I forget that knitting is not a universal skill, or at least that it's not a thoroughly unimpressive skill.

I was sitting in a coffee shop over the weekend, waiting for a friend. I was sipping a cup of chai and reading my email on my phone, and of course I was knitting. At one point, I noticed that the three ladies sitting a few tables away were talking about me. One of them sheepishly explained that she couldn't understand how I was reading while I was knitting instead of carefully inspecting each and every stitch. Another chimed in and exclaimed about the fine gauge and delicate yarn I was working with (she very nearly gasped when I added that this isn't even the far end of the spectrum). They asked what I was making, and they oohed and ahhed when I told them what and for whom. I assured them I've been knitting for years, and that I was agonizing over individual stitches not long ago.

It was a nice exchange, and a good reminder to myself to take note of the things that come easily to me, especially when it can be easy to dwell on those that do not (see, e.g., running, making phone calls to wedding-related vendors, functioning on less than seven hours of sleep). Thanks, random coffee shop ladies. I needed that.