Generally speaking, I am a patient person. However, I am awful when it comes to waiting for public transportation. I was raised in New York City and have taken public transportation my whole life, so you would think I would have learned how to wait gracefully. No such luck. I obsessively check to see if I can see the train or the bus. The book I will read happily once I am seated (or even standing), completely incapable of holding my attention.
Right now I am waiting for my train from New York to Boston. It has been delayed because the train hit a person in Delaware (all I know is that no one on the train was hurt, no news on the status of the person the train hit). My normal fidgeting is exacerbated by being overtired and just a mite cranky. I woke up too early this morning and I am suffering from the emotional hangover that comes from saying goodbye to my niecelettes.
All I want to do is curl up and go to sleep. Instead, I am sitting on a concrete bench, on an admittedly gorgeous day, feeling miserable. Even though I know the train won’t be arriving any time soon, my book doesn’t hold my interest. I tried to play a game on my Nook, but they all either required too much brain power (most of them are word games) or just didn’t suit my mood. After anxiously picking at my cuticles for a few minutes, I give up and plug myself into a podcast and happily start untangling some embroidery floss.
I find untangling yarn or floss to be incredibly calming. I also love weaving in ends. I have been told that is an enviable trait in a crafter. Before I started knitting, I used to ask my husband to let me weave in the ends on all of his finished objects. He thought it was an odd request, but always happily handed the project over for me to complete the final, inane chore. I have been known to spend hours untangling knots that any sane person would have just cut. Untangling knots is my go-to activity when I don’t have the patience to knit or embroider. The knot I am currently untangling is comprised of individual strands of floss I have carried across the country for just this type of situation. Eventually the train arrived and I tucked the as-of-yet not fully untangled floss back in to my bag for the next time I desperately need its healing powers.