Craft Report: Self Soothing through Knitting

I came across the term self soothing in some of the baby literature I’ve been reading which speaks of how babies eventually learn to calm themselves down by sucking on their thumbs.  At a time when my world is being torn between motherhood, career and housekeeping, I have had to scramble for ways to self soothe.  Last Friday, I turned to knitting.

It was just Angel and me because the 15 year old had locked himself in his room after a fiery exchange of words.. So I thought I’d take out my size 13 (!) needles and a ball of yarn I had ripped apart from a previous attempt to crochet a cap.  I stitched a total of 35 to have practically a foot of material across.  I intend to do a shawl/scarf. 

The huge needle allows me to knit big stitches which give the material a lot of breathing room.  Although I’m using 4 ply yarn, the ultra huge stitches are producing a lightweight and loose material that can be a warm enough shawl or a cozy scarf if bunched up and tied around one’s neck.  I haven’t touched it much this weekend but I figure I can do a few rows at a time.. self soothing.

Monday Insanity

A lot of people misunderstand what an Executive Assistant does.  Just keeping my boss’s calendar is a herculean task by itself, given that she is being pulled into meetings from all sides, and when all is finally scheduled, the uberbosses decide to call her up to the principal’s office and everything goes haywire.  Add to that the fact that there are a thousand and one things that keep us on our toes even when we’re just here, sitting in front of the computer.

Of course the fact that I somehow find the time to write here in my blog is totally part of breathing, and I write fluidly without taking up much time and effort from my otherwise chaotic day.

Some people just can’t understand plain English, more so when it says I cannot do what you’re asking me to do because I’m trying to focus on doing things for my boss which is my priority.  (Now, that wasn’t too profound was it?)

It’s like a cry for help that goes unheeded.  I already gave them my piece last week — or the week before, asking for help scheduling a slew of candidates for interview by half a dozen people.  My plea fell on deaf ears.  And it seems that the expectation is that I will continue to do the work.  I wouldn’t mind if we weren’t crazy on this end — but we are. 

It’s a very trying time for us here — and while I know it’s not only crazy on my side of the fence, I wish they’d understand I have to prioritize.  Venting time done.. have to get to some of the other things I desperately need to get off my plate.