The Reality Lobe

I know there's much truth and brilliance in the whole study of the brain but I swear mine is wired a little differently. Read this to mean that I am aware that I am a total nut case and have no real desire/ability to change it. LOL. I think I have a 'sub-section' of the frontal lobe. You know, that's where your ability to do futile things like reasoning, problem solving, planning goes on. It is safe to say that my frontal lobe is on overload - needs new wiring, and may be shooting sparks and puffing thick clouds of black smoke out of it as we speak. I may have missed employing the frontal lobe when planning the last month. Let's see, a cross-country trek with oodles of yarn in tow for a week (aka: Sock Summit), a move of both farm and family (for which I conveniently forgot would include silly, trivial things, really, like PACKING AND UNPACKING). Dang, is that why there are big brown boxes still adorning every room in the house? And, I surely thought I had more power than I really do if I thought I could do both of those things whilst preparing for two more shows, being in the thick of garden canning, and keeping the shop, farm, schooling, and home life reasonably running. Oh, and laundry - because the beast doesn't slow down just because you're running around looking like a deer in the headlights.

It's like that lobe just gets overloaded but never really realizes that is happening. It has no alarm system and sends a message, "Houston, you are taking on too much and are waking up in the middle of the night panicking about all that you forgot to do yesterday and making notes on your bedside table about them for tomorrow - there may be a problem and, alas, it could have a solution!" No, this doesn't happen. And, when the wiring is overloaded, I just keep filling the 'to-do' baskets with a blissful ignorance to the probability factor - how much more CAN you do?

All the while, there is this hidden part of the lobe that is 'storing up' data to confront me with on the day(s) wherein the wiring issue becomes patently clear. Oh, I hate those days. They come on like normal days (thank the powers that be that ALL days begin with coffee or I think maybe I'd just crawl into a cave somewhere and whimper myself to death) but the reality lobe is slowly building juice to cause the most spectacular fireworks show as each and every wire outlet blows. Again, I bow humbly to those who make sure there is coffee in the world. Cream and sugar for those moments, even though I usually take it strong and black - life has to have rewards and simple pleasures, you know?

Among the scattered ruins of the 'plans' and 'ideas' and 'realities', still smoldering from the great appearance of the reality lobe, I do manage to find, again, the things that make me smile, put a little song in my soul, and wipe the memory clean ASAP so I'll have the ignorance+courage+tenacity to go at it all again:) Reality isn't so bad ALL THE TIME. Like this week. I failed miserably at the 'to do' list BUT, I also assumed that meant there was insufficient knitting. Not so. There was this pair of socks that I forgot to show you last week - knit from a new colorway I called 'Red Letter Year'.

You might remember that Thing 1 and I went to see this awesome lady in concert for her (Thing 1's) birthday this year. The show? Errr, it was only TOTALLY AWESOME. But this song, in particular, just about made me scream, laugh, cry, and yell, "Yeah!" over and over again. Okay, I did yell over and over again but, really, can you blame me? So, on the way home from the concert (yes it was dark and yes I was driving but the reality lobe is drained of power right now so - whut?) I slapped some post it notes on the dashboard and started scribbling down the colorway touches to 'Red Letter Year'. Something bold, something that doesn't apologize but humbling acknowledges that life is full of episodes wherein one finds one is 'f....ing up', and something that says that's okay as long as you learn from it, do better next time, and keep some love in your heart all the while.

Then there's this sock in progress project that got a great big happy face and scratch off the 'on-the-needles' list this week. A collaboration of two EKF colorways: Meditation and Johny Jump Ups with a simple quilt stitch worked in on the rows where the color changes. It was super easy - mostly stockinette stitch, and the happy play of stripes and dark purples against light, springy joy just thrilled me beyond what I'm willing to describe or discuss in public. It's the little things, really, that sometimes breathe the magic fairy dust of forgetting the reality lobe explosions and get you back up and running again.

Now, should I finish the two sweaters on the needles or cast on another sock project? Hmmmmm.....reaches for the reality lobe switch with an evil grin and shuts it right off.....