Let's all be honest. We crocheter's can make as many jokes about "preparing for this for years" as we want, but that doesn't make it any easier. Maybe crocheters have a built-in thing to do, but quarantine isn't easy. Whether it's not being able to get away from your kids by leaving for your typical workday, or stuck with your family having no classes to go to, or simply not being able to see some of your biggest support systems, we're all struggling.
Personally, I've found myself stuck thousands of miles from my house, quarantined with my mother, one of my least favorite people for reasons that aren't particularly worth going into. And being away from home, one of my big safety nets I didn't even know I had turned out to be my yarn stash. We all are pretty intimate with our yarn stashes. You know, that huge rainbow-colored pile that's cost us hundreds of dollars over the years and yet we still haven't used skeins from years ago? That wall of yarn that's probably a hoarding problem but in the community, we call it a yarn stash to make it cutesy and acceptable? We all have one, and to crocheters it truly feels like this is the moment we've been waiting for. Finally, we have a purpose for all that yarn we thought we'd never be able to use! But me? I'm thousands of miles away from it, and damn...I never thought that would make me so uncomfortable.
In the midst of this pandemic, there's not a lot that's guaranteed or stable. We don't know if we'll get COVID and be hospitalized or if our parents or grandparents will die from the disease or how long it'll be before we can feel safe leaving our own houses again. And everyone's finding something familiar to hold onto. Whether it be keeping your family close or getting lost in an artistic image or diving into your newly-at-home work, we all have something we're holding onto for a sense of comfort. And for a lot of us in the community, yarn and crochet are our comforts and what we're holding onto.
My comfort feels lost. My yarn stash is across the country and besides being stuck in a house with people I don't like in a state I barely recognize, I don't even have my yarn. The one comfort I thought I would always have. I miss my dog because she was always beside me. I miss getting lost in the sounds of my piano. And dumbly enough, I miss my freaking yarn stash.
I think in this day and age, we're used to making jokes and taking things lightly. Not because we don't understand the severity of the situation, but because if we can't laugh at it we feel like we're all going to drown. I think what I've realized is that it's okay to laugh and be drowning all at the same time. Laughs don't make the sadness or the fear disappear, but if you only think about the unknown this pandemic will be unbearable. This world isn't black or white, but rather both at the same time. And the best thing I can do is laugh because I'm scared. Or be anxious and smile about how insane this is at the same time.
There's a lot that's changed. We've all been taken away from our routines, any familiarity we used to know, and any stability we used to cling to. And for a lot of us, that's terrifying. Whether we're yelling at people a little more or tired of being stuck in a house or it seems like everything sets us over the edge to tears, this is hard. None of us are in our element anymore. And the last, measly thing I could hold onto... I don't even have my yarn.
So let's keep laughing about how this is what we've all begged about for years, but we can also acknowledge that it's hard and scary and we all have lost our sense of comfort. Because crocheters or not, we're all in this together. And yarn stash at your side or not, we can all lend a little bit of support. Send a message to that friend you haven't seen, telling them you're thinking about them. Leave a message on someone's Instagram post, saying their work is beautiful. Hell, even live streaming or starting some kind of crochet challenge to bond us all together. We'll get through this, but we have to take it one day at a time. Process through your fear and uneasiness. And at the end of the day, remember that this is finally an opportunity to dig into that good ol' yarn stash.
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