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I think my son was about 10 months old when he first got into my knitting. We had this cube storage, for toys, against the wall shaped like stairs. The knitting basket sat on top. It was perfect! Until of course the day he pulled all the toys off the cubicles and climbed the stairway to my knitting.

I had started my first project using fingering yarn and it was going to be a sweet little lamb puppet using this pattern from spin off magazine.

I was about an inch and a half in and he destroyed it! He ripped everything off the needles and broke one of my double points. I flipped. I sat on the ground in tears crying. More like bawling. Screaming….’why?’. Any mom knows not to ask why….if there is a reason children can not articulate it (especially at 10 months).

Instead: Hide all remnants of project and possibly all things that remind you of knitting and in this case sheep. Breath. Drink a big glass of water. Then get outside and do something physical. There will come a time when you can pick the project up again without even being sad.

Bobic Family Rule #2:

Never cry over broken needles or destroyed projects.

Later that afternoon the realization that my children had seen me act like that appalled me. I will not ever let them see me act like that again over knitting. Knitting can be redone…that’s the beauty of it actually. Needles (the ones I buy) are cheap. And while my knitting is ever so valuable to me in the moment the finished project is not important to my or my childrens’ well being.

It also caused me to pose the question of what I valued in my life. Sometimes our actions do not line up with our values. I value and valued my children, their happiness, their development, my position as a decent role model. Why then did I not take it seriously. Someone once told me its easy to be peaceful and patient and kind when things are going well. But that is not a true test is it?

Now when I get the lemons I think of it as an opportunity to teach my children how to make lemonade.