Friendship - 1

All I know in life, has been taught patiently by friends.

A while back a few friends had an idea to crochet hats.  They had given me yarn, a needle, and a few lessons.  I struggled a lot to make the stitches - the yarn kept coming off the needle.  Eventually, like I do with most hobbies, I gave it up and put it aside. 

Yesterday, my mother-in-law came over for dinner and saw the half-begun hat, and took it off the shelf. She looked it over and immediately recognized the pattern of the stitching.  Then she patiently showed me how to make the stitch, explaining the steps over and over at the beginning of each stitch, until I started having fun with it and finding it easier. 

Now, instead of struggling with how to make a stitch, I am struggling with how to make a hat.  This is very exciting for two reasons: one is that, the best teachers in life are one's friends.  No one else will have such patience and love.  

 Second, is that the human mind is amazing.  When one acquires a motor skill, they can immediately abstract it, and think of more complex patterns.  Grasping the needle and controlling the movement of the hands is something each baby learns to do.  Children and adults can use these skills to master complex moves like making a stitch.  And once that is known, the mind focuses only in the pattern of the stitches.  Yeah for object-oriented programming.  :-)