Learning Patience

   I always considered myself a patient person. I have been on hold with an insurance company for as long as 20 minutes. I have answered endless questions that people have about medications. I have picked up stray candy wrappers left by someone who shall remain nameless. I have continued to love a cat even though he ruined several pillows, a blanket and two rooms of carpeting because he wanted to "think outside his box".
  I have waited, wondered and been lost with only a little vented frustration. I've been irritated, aggravated and downright furious and managed to hold my tongue. You must be patient with people. They don't know how they sound. They didn't mean what you thought they meant. Just be patient.
  The past few weeks I learned that I'm not really patient at all. Those of you who have read this column will know that my knitting teacher and (now) adopted sister, Dana, decided to teach me how to crochet a granny square. I was excited to learn because a granny square is a useful thing. When you put several of them together you can make things like blankets and scarves. They are a great way to use up bits of yarn leftover from projects.
  They are really quite simple. Dana showed me how to get started. She explained to me how to do it. You do a series of stitches and then a chain which makes a hole. Then you start over again. You do this around and around until you have the size that you want. Easy.
  For some reason I just couldn't wrap my head around the concept. I was putting my stitches in the wrong spot. Some times I would forget how to do the stich. I would finish a section and then go the wrong way on the next stich. It was a frustrating.
  I kept interrupting Dana to ask yet again what I needed to do next. She would patiently help me. I would go back to my work, mildly fuming. What made it worse is that Dana was sitting right beside me crocheting a blanket. She was doing effortlessly the same thing I was doing. She didn't even need to look at her work. She could stop to sip at her tea or help me figure out what I was doing wrong, again and then just pick up her work without missing a beat. Truly aggravating.
  What bothered me most is that I couldn't figure out why I was struggling so. I had managed to pick up knitting quite easily. Why was this so difficult? Part of the challenge is that I wants' practicing. When I was learning to knit, I would practice for ten to fifteen minutes every day. Because I had started on the scarf project, I wasn't doing that with my granny square. The only time I could practice it was on Thursday mornings after Toastmasters.
  I struggled along week after week until this past Thursday. For some reason the light came on. I started a new row and stitched part of one side. I showed Dana my work. I had done it right. I started to go around the square. I did it correctly. Then I finished part of another side. I laid out my work for Dana to see. I was pretty sure I had it right. Dana smiled with approval. I did have it right. I had finally caught on to what I was supposed to do.
   I'm not sure what happened, but something had clicked on. One of the things I needed to do was to simply lay out my work when I got lost. Once you look at it laying flat, it really does become obvious what needs to be done. Dana was right about that.
  The other thing I needed to do was be patient. This time with myself. I have always considered myself to be a quick learner. Many times I am, but I should allow myself more time if I need it. Learning it right is more important than learning it fast.
  Learning how to crochet a granny square has taught me to things. The first is a new piece of needle work and the second is that even a patient person can learn to have more patience.