Teach A Man to Fish

Tonight we attended the local Auction, and I carried my "Old Faithful" ball of yarn and my crochet needle along with me.I never plan to go too far without something in my pocket or purse, just in case. I don't like to say I get bored, for that is a word I detest. I wish it were removed from the English vocabulary. In my opinion, there is no reason for any one to be bored.You should always plan ahead for moments when you might reach that point.Always have an alternate plan of action, in mind.A book, a deck of cards, a pen and a tablet of writing paper,needle and thread for mending,fabric pieces for quilting,needlepoint,nail polish.The list is endless. Never let yourself get in a position to be bored.

Nevertheless, I was sitting with a couple with a young daughter who kept squirming and asking to bid on every other item.She was so restless and fidgety. I kept hearing her Dad and her step-Mother telling her to sit still and be quiet. I pulled out my ball of thread and my crochet needle and offered to show her how to crochet, telling her how she would never be bored if she would try to learn to crochet. Her step-mother had learned to crochet a chain sometime in the past, so she took the thread and tried her hand at it. She was a bit tense and clumsy with her technique, but most beginners are. I worked with her for awhile then turned her loose with the yarn and needle. She spent the rest of the evening trying to crochet. By the time she was ready to leave the auction, she had a small pouch crocheted,due to her stitches getting tighter and fewer with each round she made. She could have used it to make a nice cover for a baseball.But she'll get the hang of it if she keeps trying. When you first begin to learn,your project usually looks pretty rough. Just ravel it out and start again. That's how you learn. All the while the step-mother was learning, the little girl and I were talking.I ended up telling the step-mother she could have the thread and the needle,for herself and the daughter to practice their crocheting.The little girl could not believe I was giving them the ball of yarn and the needle. I explained to her that I make and give things away a lot, but in this case I would teach them to crochet.I told her it was kinda like the verse. "Give a man a fish, and he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he'll eat for a lifetime."I could crochet something for her, and give it to her, but by me teaching her how, she can make many things for herself and others.

I have given several balls of yarn and crochet needles to ladies and children, over the years, who showed interest in learning. I tried to teach my younger step daughter when she was very young, but her real mother thought it was a worthless thing for her to do, so she tossed it in the garbage. I found and about it later and it was rather painful to hear, but I had tried. Now that same daughter is teaching her daughter the same thing. Crafts are worthless and don't amount to anything, so there's no need to learn them. I know folks are all different, and some folks enjoy crafts and some don't, but it pains me to see anyone,bored out of their skull at times when they could be enjoying a craft of some kind, especially when there is no other alternative available to pacify oneself.There are so many other crafts than the ones that I enjoy. One needs to try several types of crafts and most likely they will find something that they enjoy doing, that can be used to fill their idle moments.

What do you do to keep from getting bored when you are forced to spend idle time, in a place where you'd rather not be?