I’ve always been a little bit crafty. I love creating things with my hands, and I especially love crocheting. I’ve made countless blankets and beanies (and even a bikini!) over the years. While I’ve also enjoyed things like quilting, scrapbooking, and embroidery, there’s just something about a hook and yarn that speaks directly to my soul.
But in 2013, all of my crafting came to a halt. While at the beach with my family, my husband Jeff dove into the ocean and broke his neck. He was instantly paralyzed from the neck down - and in that instant, our lives were forever changed. He became a quadriplegic and I became a caregiver. We were 39 and 37 years old with a 4-year-old daughter.
He spent 7 months in a rehabilitation hospital where together we learned the beginnings of facing life with a spinal cord injury. When he came home, I quit my job to take care of him. We left an environment where a slew of nurses split his care in shifts. Now at home, it was just me.
I was consumed with caregiving.
Though it took a while, we did eventually get into a routine. But during the first year, I didn’t even think about picking up a craft. I just couldn’t. We moved twice in five months - and again a year after that. I ended up donating a big chunk of my crafting supplies at this point. The rest - my sewing machine, a few scraps of fabric, and my beloved crochet hooks, knitting needles, and skeins of yarn - were hastily packed into cardboard boxes and stored in a garage. My world now revolved around things like ventilators, catheters, and transfers, and my hobbies were relegated to a distant back burner.
Yet creativity still called to me. I remember trying to hand embroider a decorative E on fabric for our daughter Evie, but the time-consuming nature of finding the right colors and ironing the fabric to perfection, and transferring the pattern to the fabric were simply too much. Tasks I used to find rewarding and relaxing were now frustrating and stressful since they were competing with my demanding schedule as a caregiver.
About two years into my husband’s injury, I found myself at a local craft store with our daughter choosing some summer projects for her. I used to spend what felt like half my waking hours in stores like this in my old life. Now being back in one after such a long absence was overwhelming. We spent time in the kid craft aisles and filled our basket with projects that were intended to last the whole summer, but in reality would last just a week or two. And just before we checked out, I felt that pull. That same one I always felt in these stores.
“Let’s go look at the yarn,” I whispered to Evie. She nodded and followed. I hadn’t even been in this particular store before, yet I instinctively knew where the yarn would be. And when I turned down the aisle and was engulfed by the colorful fibers on either side, I felt something spark inside me that I hadn’t felt in a long time.
I picked up two skeins of glittery yarn with the intention of making myself a scarf. Nothing fancy. No intricate pattern needed - just a simple stitch I knew by heart. I left the store with that excited feeling every crafter knows when a new project is on the horizon.
And do you know how long it took me to finish that project?
TWO YEARS.
Yes, you read that right. Two years for a simple scarf that would have taken me a few days to complete in my old life.
But I don’t have my old life anymore - I have my new one now. And I’ve learned to look at the role crafting plays in my new life in a new way.
I’ve learned that small projects that I can pick up and put down at a moment’s notice are the way to go. Long gone are the days of making intricate quilts with custom embroidery. I no longer have the space nor the chunk of time to dedicate to those projects. What I have now are snippets. Do I miss those long, free hours of crafting at will? Of course. But instead of being resentful for what I no longer have, I’ve learned to be grateful for the time slots available to me now. I’ve learned to work within the snippets.
And crocheting small, meaningful projects within those snippets has given me a sense of joy. They help restore the balance in my life when it’s overrun by the constant call of caregiving. They help bring a little bit of “me time” to my life. Not every day, of course. Sometimes not even every week. But when I need them, they’re there. And I’ve been working on incorporating them into my life a little more. They’re the balancing force I need.
And as for my once depleted yarn stash, I’m happy to say I now have a bin dedicated to yarn in my office closet. And guess what … I think I’m going to need another bin soon.
Now that’s a good feeling.
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| Working on the Two-Year Scarf in the car. |
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| Me finally wearing the Two-Year Scarf - and Jeff donning his go-to beanie I made for him over a decade ago. |
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| Me and Jeff sporting the Star Wars beanies I made for Halloween. |
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| My latest project - a summer vest! |
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| My current WIP - mermaid gloves for Evie. |
*** If you are a caregiver in any capacity or have experienced a monumental shift in your life, I encourage you to pick up an old hobby - or discover a new one - to help find the balance you need. If you think you don’t have time, try it even for a few minutes. Sometimes that’s all it takes. Don’t be afraid to work within the snippets.
xoxo
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