Hobby or Habit?

Last night we had a little gathering to celebrate the presence of my sister and her family from out of town. The menu was take out Chinese Food so no one had to really work to put dinner on or clean it up. That meant I wouldn't have to pitch in and help! So needless to say I arrived before everyone and grabbed a spot with good light, parking my purse to allow for smooth drawing of yarn from the bag as I of course planned to knit on my work socks for the four or five hours we were there. Bliss!

But when I looked into by bag, my omnipresent Ziploc and its precious contents weren't there!!!

Upon his arrival shortly after this terrible realization came to me my son immediately told me to just go home and get it. He said, "you know you'll be so much happier if you have it! Why don't you just go now, before anyone else gets here!

As others arrived, they too expressed sympathy with my plight.

Now one of the reasons I started this blog is because no one I know really cares a whit about knitting. My family will, when cajoled, look, squeeze, smell and make a positive comment about my knitting and or yarn but that's as far as it goes. What I know they do care about though is that they all clearly recognize I'm generally a happier person in the company of knitting (that is going well) but I had no idea how clearly they understood the corollary of that in that I am not as happy without it.

It actually surprises me how much it is the case that the presence of my knitting makes me calmer and more patient with what is going on around me and hence more content. With family here from far away how ridiculous to feel such disappointment at the absence of sticks and string! It makes me wonder just what this thing called knitting is for me...pleasant pastime or crutch?