Friday, June 10, 2005

I was right...this is hard!

So I started knitting with the DPNs yesterday. First of all, all those little suckers can get in your way. And making sure that you did not accidentally twist your stitches? Difficult. And when you pick a pattern that says right on it "intermediate," while you are very much a beginner? Could be considered a mistake. I did my whole starting thing...casting on the stitches, dividing them evenly among the four needles, joining the stitches in a circle. I knit my first round. And then my brain promptly crapped out on me, and I was unable to follow simple instructions. K1, p1? What does that mean? So I had to do a little frogging, and today I tried again. Looks like the old brain is back with us, kids...

Meanwhile, I think there's a good chance that I am one of those people (and I know that you know what I am talking about here) who, as a kid, would easily have been diagnosed with ADHD if that had been the diagnosis du jour (disclaimer...I am not saying that some kids don't actually have ADHD...I am just saying that sometimes medication isn't the first and only answer). As I was sitting on the couch (after another shift at BBW) watching TV, I was, by turns, reading a chapter in my book, knitting a round of my sock*, leafing through a magazine, reading another chapter in my book, knitting a little more...I am sure you get the picture. And then the Fab 5 came on! Score! I managed to watch TV for all of four minutes before my hands had to get busy** again!

Anyway, tomorrow is the start of a clinical weekend. I will be spending two days learning and working*** at a nationally renowned pediatric psychiatric hospital. I am thrilled and excited and nervous and scared and humbled by the thought of this experience. I am thrilled and excited because I am enjoying my mental health rotation SO MUCH, so I look forward to more of that experience. I am nervous and scared because it will be really hard to see little kids who have to be hospitalized for mental health issues. I am humbled by the thought that we will be welcomed into that environment tomorrow and will get to spend our day among these kids hits me right here (that would be right in the heart for those of you who aren't channeling me right now). Here's hoping it's a great day!

And now, being Miss Excitement like I am, it's time to do a little more knitting and then hit the sack early. After all, what else am I doing on this Friday night?

*And by sock, I mean ring of knit stitch that might someday resemble a misshapen sock if I can get my shit together and figure this thing out.

**Hey, at least some part of my body was getting busy!

***I hear through the grapevine that a lot of this will involve playing with the kids...one of my fellow students said she got a better workout during this experience than she ever gets in real life!

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