I don’t know how you handle it, but when I feel things start to speed up I like to sit down with a cup of coffee, make some lists and try to pull things together in a concrete way. That’s what I’m doing this morning as the reality of what I’m doing this week sinks in. Today I have Elliot, the house, laundry and Patreon prep to manage, tomorrow I have to pack, pick up my bike from the shop and film, and Saturday I have to drop off all my stuff for the Rally at packing day and edit the video from the day before, and Sunday we leave. That means I have FOUR DAYS and every time I think about it I get a slightly hysterical feeling in my stomach that I am fixing the way I always have, and that is with yarn. Sure, you might think that packing and organizing and actually doing some of the things on my list would help, but I am taking the edge off of this thing by ignoring it all and knitting on a hemp poncho.
I know, that’s an unlikely sentence but it’s working for me. Every time I think about how much needs doing between now and Sunday, I just knit another repeat. (Pattern is River Ripples, and the yarn is Tokeland Hemp – Rain Shadow Farm. I got mine from The Artful Ewe.) I remember seeing this pattern knit in that yarn as a sample and really loving how it looked – part of that whole “post apocalyptic my clothes are all rags but I look fabulous anyway matrix-ish” vibe that I always aspire to but somehow always ends up making me look rather scruffy instead of chic. I keep trying though and this week I’m plowing away on it like it will be the perfect thing to wear on a week long charity ride. Should I be out riding hill repeats? Yes. (Actually I did that yesterday.) Should I be finding and packing my camping stuff? Absolutely. Should I be organizing the family for my absence? That would be best, yes. Should I be working so that I can ride for a week without the pressure and guilt of abandoning the only thing paying the bills? If I was clever, yes. Should I be doing something about the way the whole house is slightly sticky?
NO SORRY I URGENTLY NEED A HEMP PONCHO.
The poncho is here pictured yesterday at the park, where Ellie and I have been hanging at the wading pool. Today is predicted to be ridiculously hot so after talking it through, we’re going back to the “big pool”. We have decided to return despite injustices perpetrated upon Elliot’s person last week when it turned out that you have to be six years old to go on the water slide, not five- and when we were told that I have to be an arms length away from him until he reaches that magic age as well. Elliot feels (and I think the kid has a point) that pool independence should be based on swimming ability, not age. Last week Elliot made his case to the lifeguard quite passionately, pointing out that letting a non-swimming six year old go on the slide but relegating a swimming five year old to the shallow end seems quite unreasonable and not based in any sort of logical system but the lifeguard was completely unmoved, shrugged, and said “You have to be six, kid.”
Elliot’s rage was complete, though it is worth noting here he is not yet a proficient swimmer. His current record is swimming about three metres without a life jacket and we have an understanding that it needs to be about ten metres before he gets more independence at the pool, but I think he liked the idea that getting onto the water slide would be more about skills he could work on and attain at any moment, rather than something stupid like the sun needing to rotate more times around the earth, which is hardly a thing he can speed up. Ellie felt this was most unfair and arbitrary, and on the way home he bitterly declared that we were never, ever going back, with exactly a tone of voice that implied that this decision would surely breed deep regret in the heart of the callous lifeguard. We’ve talked about it since then, with me gently suggesting that his boycott is likely not going to change many rules but learning to swim 10 metres will mean that he’s ready when he is six, so we’re going back.
Elliot will have you know though, he is not talking to that lifeguard. I’ll be knitting the poncho.
You tell ’em Ellie! Or rather, don’t tell ’em. Whatever. Stick to your guns.
Love the poncho.
I always find it so entertaining when you’re up against a hard deadline with tons to do. Not that I enjoy your suffering, you understand, but rather the way you write about it.
Tell Ellie from me that being able to make a logical argument to an authority figure is a good skill for his Life Toolbox.
Presbytery, I’m with you on all counts here.
And somehow autocorrect made you a part of a church.
Happens all the time 🙂
The lifeguards don’t make the rules. The lifeguard likely needs the job and is not in a position to ignore the rules. That said, Im glad we belonged to a private pool where the swim coach knew all the kids and where they could go and what they could do was based on individual ability and whatever adult you were with.
I frequently knit when I need to be getting something done. And yet everything gets done. Or else it doesn’t, but we’re all still alive so it must not have been that important
I heartily agree with Elliot, but it is a life lesson about raging against The Man. Arbitrary unreasonable rules unfortunately don’t get any easier as we age. I think it perfectly reasonable that he is Not Speaking to the Lifeguard. The Lifeguard may not know it, but Elliot does and in the end that is what matters.
I understand Elliot’s frustration, but when you’re dealing with a pool-full, it is impossible to conduct swimming tests and then what? Stamp them with a permit?
Go have a good time anyway, but what is this about? “we were told that I have to be an arms length away from him until he reaches that magic age as well.”
It means an adult has to be within reaching distance until he is 6, just in case.
Ah, so it’s a maximum distance. At first read I thought it was a minimum distance and was very confused.
Elliot’s sense of (in)justice seems perfectly reasonable to me, and I hope that his learning to swim better out of sheer spite will serve him well in the years to come.
(I’ve achieved many things in my life, including staying alive, out of spite. I recommend it as a motivator.)
Wishing you tailwinds, clear skies, and comfy campsites.
You Go Elliot! I get his argument totally. As a proficient swimmer from age 4 on, it seemed so unfair to be told ‘you can’t’ just because of an arbitrary age limit. I hope this spurs him to swim better, a skill that will last a lifetime.
p.s. I jumped off the high dive at age 6 – just because I could, scared my poor Mom to death (although she cheered at the time).
I’m with Elliot! Unfortunately, the lifeguard has the last word. Also love the hemp poncho! Have a good water day !
Please tell Ellie that I love his determination. (And don’t tell him this, but I think that he’s right.)
Wishing you luck getting everything done. May you have a comfy bottom on your ride.
I think Elliott sounds like a smart young man…he’ll go far with that determination.
Elliot needs to get practice his swimming LOTS so he’ll be able to swim better and faster than that lifeguard next year!
Steph, I think I’ve found the perfect solution to both that slightly hysterical feeling, and something else you complain about every year. Whenever you have that feeling, knit socks for Joe. All that unending boredom should be the perfect remedy, and you’ll have another little, tiny, bit of his Christmas present done!
Sounds like a great idea. But I’m wondering whether endless rounds of grey would successfully take the edge off.
Or knit a few rows on Joe’s gansey….
Way to go Elliot. I’m on your side. You are going to do great things in your life!
Delightful post re Elliot and in general. When I’m caught knitting when I “should” be doing something else, I quote you. “The Yarn Harlot says ‘Knitting takes the edge off’.” It does, and I claim my write to knit when I need to.
Oops, right.
Unfortunately, liability insurance for the pool sets the rules. If the lifeguard disregards those rules and anything happens, the insurance company will no longer insure the pool operator and the pool will have to close . . . plus have defend itself in court against damages to whoever got hurt because the rules weren’t enforced.
Like you, I find making a list of what needs to be done gives me some motivation to actually do the tasks so that I can check them off the list, one task at a time. You can do it, especially since you appear to have forgotten that you have 3 days (today, Thursday, and Friday) before delivering your bin on Saturday (the 4th day) , and taking off on the ride on Sunday (day 5).
May the temperatures cool down, with clear skies, for the bike rally! You do a wonderful job and a wonderful service to all of the people who PWA serves.
I love the vivid picture of Elliot that comes bouncing off the page (er, screen)!! I am with him all the way. I hope he preserves that rage at injustice throughout his life …. also what a lovely poncho, obviously it’s exactly what you need Right Now.
Steph, please show us more pictures of your poncho — I might need one exactly like it. I really shouldn’t go to the monthly meeting of my knit group. We do a share-around, (you were with us one morning a long time ago) and inevitably some other knitter’s project is far more attractive than my boring project, and I can hardly wait to get to my LYS to get started on the new project. A hemp poncho might be exactly what I need.
Can’t talk for others of course, but i’d be happy to pay my patreon & not receive episodes this month and let you ride your bike, its such a big fundraising effort.
And akways ignore s sticky house.
Best wishes for a very smooth ride with clear skies, and definitely a strong tailwind all the way.
Learning to swim early is definitely very important.
Way to go Ellie!
Remembering the original summer poncho binge of many years ago, which got me to knit a poncho, which I gave to a friend who graciously pretended to like it.
My sympathies and best wishes to Elliot, as I taught a scarily proficient swimmer, who was doing laps at 4 1/2. He was told the same thing, and proceeded to swim past the lifeguard chair, doing laps, for an hour. After that, the guard said, in a pointed voice, “You are six, RIIIIGGGGHHHTTT?!” and gave him the appropriate color wristband.
Cooling breezes and warm wishes to all!
I sympathize with Elliot and sincerely hope his sense of justice/fairness will survive intact through to adulthood. It will serve him (and others!) well all his life! I am also sympathetic to the strong urge to soothe the stress with lists and, ultimately, procrastination. When I was finishing law school, my husband coined the term “procrastibaking” for my pre-exam activities in the kitchen. Had I been a knitter back then, I am sure knitting would also have been involved. Good luck with the Rally!
OK, Elliot IS NOT five years old! That can’t be possible, and it’s just not fair.
Seriously love that he has a mind of his own, and is protesting the complete unfairness of the pool rules. You go Ellie!
Steph, thank you for making me feel slightly better about the fact that I am reading the blog and knitting a sock rather than doing the mountain of things I “should” be doing 🙂
Go Ellie Go!
That lifeguard surely just lit a fire under Elliot to become a better swimmer than that lifeguard. Go Elliot!
Good job Ellie, sticking up for 5 year olds at the pool!
I go by The Artful Ewe twice a day, to & from work, before they open and after they close! Again, work gets in the way of knitting…but I manage to add to my stash if nearby on a weekend.
When I was eight and learning to ride a bike, my brother pushed me off into the gravel and was not punished. I swore never to ride again and kept my word, even though it meant not being able to go to the ice cream store (and many other places) with the other kids. I finally tried again in my 40s, took a header over the handlebars and eventually, years later, had to have the knee replaced. So I’m on Elliot’s side and kind of wish he’d stuck to his guns!
I feel Elliott’s pain. My daughter learned to read a couple of weeks after she turned four. With a September birthday, she would start school at 5. We tried to sign her up for the summer reading program at the library, and were told she had to be 6. The neighbor’s child, an non-reader who turned 6 in June (both were entering first grade in the fall), was able to sign up, but not the five year old who could read the NY Times. I managed to get the rule changed so that the rule was,” Must have completed first grade,” but, of course, that didn’t help my kid. Go, Elliott, go!
Good luck getting everything done for the Rally. And good times on the Rally.
How ridiculous is that? Our public library lets kids participate as soon as they can listen to their parents or caregivers read to them.
I love Elliot’s thought process and courage to speak up! Good luck on your bike ride!
Can we talk about the bird’s eye twill blanket please?! It’s beautiful! Was it handwoven? xoxo
Gee, I wonder where he came by the notion that rules are fine as long as they actually make sense?
Don’t remember if it was the blog or one of your books, but distinctly remember a lengthy passage about how you are more than happy to follow rules as long as they make sense, and otherwise, you are more than happy to break them, provided that the ostensible end result of the rule is still being achieved.
Apparently that’s rubbed off on someone.
And I wish you pleasant weather and whatever else will make your ride better for this week.
Proud of you Ellie-most adults don’t have your skill set. Water slides are fun…until you get to the bottom and then you get a serious dunking in water that’s way over your head and your bathing suit gets all twisty.
You know, when you’re six, you’ll be taller so swimming 10 meters will be easier with longer arms and longer legs!
You’ve been packing for this trip several years…you’ve got this.
You’re nervous and anxious because you know how much this means to PWA and you want everything to go as right as it can just so there’s one less thing for them to worry about.
Stay safe, stay aware, take your time…the pledges happen whether you finish or not….with or without hemp poncho and always with stellar friends.
Good luck with your bike journey! I hope you and your buds enjoy your time together. I also want to note for the record that the earth rotates around the sun not the other way around.
As a former lifeguard I agree with Elliot. But he is not yet a proficient swimmer. Many years ago my daughter, about 4 or 5, was told no water slide, after going down it about 10 times unless she did a swim test. She passed the test with flying colours, as she had been swimming lengths since age 3.5 years. But then they changed their minds and decided age was more important. Crazy!
I have to agree with Elliott. At the pool I went to when I was young, the rule was you had to swim the width of the pool (back and forth) before you could go off the diving board. Otherwise, you had to stay in the shallow end with all the youngest and non-swimmers.
Every one of our group learned to swim the width of the pool. Smart motivation.
Hemp is one of my favorite materials to work with 🙂 Lovely post as usual. Thank you!
Good post. I learn something totally new
I just happened to read the pool rules for kids at the Y this week. For five and under, it’s about how far you can swim and how long you can tread water and getting out of the pool. There are two sets of rules with different bands earned. Exactly as it should be if you ask me. Actually, it should be for all ages. Not all adults can swim either.
Wow, Elliot, you’ve really come into your own. Let me assure you: I’m on your side. You have a bright future ahead of you.
Love the poncho! I started knitting back in 2020 when covid started and it’s become my greatest hobby 🙂