Christmas Time 2013 The Rest of The Story Part II Bella’s Visit

Christmas Time
2013
The Rest of The Story
Part II
Sunday, December 29

Bella’s Visit

We originally planned a “stay over at grandma’s”  for the Friday after Christmas.  But, because of our trip to Virginia, we had to move the date to the Sunday after Christmas.
We met Derek and Bella at 12:30 p.m. in the parking lot of the Plumstead Grill.  This is our usual meeting place.  It’s about half-way between our homes and saves all of us some drive time.
It was a cold and rainy day.
Bella no longer needs to use a car seat. She is nine years old and I am only a head taller than her.
On the ride home, Bella was ensconced in the new iTouch that she got for Christmas.  She was desperately trying to get past  level 28 of “Candy Crush Saga”.
We stopped at the grocery store so that Bella could pick out whatever snacks she likes.  We usually don’t keep that kind of stuff in our cabinets.  She chose White Cheddar Cheese Nips and Brownie Bites.
When we got home, Bella had a meatball sandwich.  I made them especially for her.  She says she loves my meatballs.

After lunch I asked Bella if she wanted to learn how to knit.  She told me that she thought she knew how to finger knit.  I Googled a video on finger knitting for her.  She picked it up right away.  In a short time, she had completed a scarf for her mom.
She asked me if it would be faster to knit on needles.  “Well, I could teach you, I guess,” I said.
Finally! For nine years I have been patiently waiting, impatiently, for her to ask me to teach her how to knit.
As I gleefully, (I couldn’t help myself) sauntered (okay skipped) off to my stash closet, I had visions of the two of us, shopping for yarn. I imagined us giggling over dropped stitches, and the one or two secret hidden mistakes in our latest projects.  We would Skype together to show each other the progress we were making on our WIP’s and brag about our FO’s. We would debate over whether or not to frog that UFO* that has been at the bottom of the basket for EVER.
 “Have you seen ‘What’s Hot Right Now’ on Ravlery?” She would ask. “Oh yes,” I would answer.
“I am just going to have to make that cute little hat.” We would both exclaim at the same time.
Back in the living room,  I coaxed myself out of my reverie.  Bella was eagerly waiting for me. With a spare set of circs** and some leftover sparkly yarn, I demonstrated the garter stitch for her.   She watched intently and then asked if she could try.
She was very comfortable right away.  And after only a couple of rows, she was knitting as if she had been doing it for, well, longer than only a few minutes.
As I sat and watched her, she asked me if I could get my knitting and sit with her.
I sighed and thought to myself, “It doesn’t get any better than that.”


Since the weather was so crummy, we stayed in and watched “Beethoven’s Fifth”.  Apparently, this one was number five in a series of movies about a St. Bernard dog, named Beethoven.   It was cute.  Bella liked it.
I noticed, though, that unlike me, she had put down her knitting and was now playing something on her Nook.

At first I must admit I was a little disappointed.  “Had I already lost my knitting protégé?”  I wondered.

But as I watched this sweet girl, I reminisced about how it felt to be curious and excited.  I  recalled how much I looked forward to try new things.
Her giggle over the antics of that silly dog was contagious and I couldn’t help but laugh along with her.

That’s what the young do, you know.  They make us forget and force us to remember.

So, maybe someday, Bella will look back on this day as she proudly wears her first hand made sweater and have memories about the day I taught her how to knit.

*WIP - Work in Progress
FO - Finished Object
UFO - Unfinished Object
**Circs - Circular Knitting Needles