On learning something brand-new

The little instructional booklet I picked up at the craft store with my skein of yarn and crochet hook was not enough.  Inter-library loan provided me two weeks with this book: 

Although the book is probably an excellent resource, I needed additional help getting started.

The day I returned it to the library, the librarian mentioned that a knitting & crocheting group was about to start.  And so it was that I found myself from 6.30-8 PM on a Tuesday evening, seated in the back room of the library with nine other women, listening to the sound of knitting needles clicking.

Ten women, six of them with varying shades of white hair, and probably all ten with dozens of afghans, scarves, and dishcloths under their belt.  I was by far the youngest in the group ... and the one with the least skills in this area.

One of the leaders eagerly started teaching me.  Very patiently, she repeated the same steps over and over, gently encouraged me, reminded me to "Pinch with your first finger, like this," and made me feel like I was really progressing.

I, on the other hand, was experiencing the pain of being out of my comfort zone, the awkwardness of moving my fingers and hands in ways that don't come naturally, the self-consciousness of being a newbie in a room of experts, plus the general shyness of being in a room full of people I had never met (and knowing that I'm the "new kid on the block," so to speak, in this rural village where everyone knows who everyone else's grandparents were). 

It's not a position I gravitate towards, nor one I've spent a lot of time in.  "See you next week!" everyone chorused as they left.  "Next week?!?" I thought.  I was prepared to attend once a month.

Besides wondering if it's worth my time (even once or twice a month) to be gone in the evening when Jim is home, I also am in the early stages of learning a new skill, the stages where it would be a lot easier to quit than to continue.  If it were a room full of ten friends, I'd love to go!  But maybe it's a room full of ten future friends.

While all these thoughts in my mind, I read Mary Ostyn's blog post, Skills for Children, with great interest.

My guess is that the more often we give our kids the chance to try skills that could be of value in the future– things like sewing, or changing the oil on a car, or fixing a flat bike tire– the more likely they are to try similar things as adults. ... And, probably just as important,  the end result is an adult who lives life with confidence.

Though I may joke about "knitting club," it is much more than an opportunity for me to learn how to crochet from people who know.  This is an opportunity for me to learn a new skill (which in itself is a skill I want to acquire) and to grow in confidence.