And the Opposite of Writing is … (Stream of Consciousness Saturday)

This has been a busy week. I have been writing, although not on here. I reserve this blog for flash fiction posts, and don’t feel right putting just “anything” down because I committed to Just Jot January. So I try to keep this blog to posts worth reading.

Today is Saturday, so this is another Stream of Consciousness Saturday post. (Yay! A two-fer!) Looking at the date, I still can’t believe it’s 2015. As years pass, my mental calendar slows until I think we should be 10 years earlier than we actually are. Did I really graduate from high school 20 years ago this year? That doesn’t seem possible.

Back to the Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Today’s topic is “Opposite”. Antonym, Reverse, Other.

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The crossword prompt asked for a 7-letter word for “the opposite of opposite.” She looked up from her puzzle and pondered. “Same” didn’t fit, because it was only four letters. “Symmetry”? “Similar”? She realized all of these words started with an S, came from the same Latin root. While synonyms for Opposite come from different roots: opposite, different, antithetical, reverse. Curious.

She took her curiosity elsewhere, to a different topic.

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In this weather, my fingers itch to do needlework. I spent most of Tuesday knitting a hat for my youngest, so that he would have a warm hat to wear when the weather hit single-digits. I have not been knitting as much. Santa brought me yarn for Christmas, and I still have my mother-in-law’s tablecloth that I mean to finish. It is sitting on the top shelf in a paper bag. Maybe, now that I don’t have other things to work in my fingers, I will get that out and finish it. She had it almost finished before she died, I only need to finish crocheting the edging.

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As Cecilia studied her sister’s fingers, she wished she could knit. Gloria had taken knitting classes and become an expert knitter, she was constantly working on a project for one of her grandchildren.

“You should learn to knit,” said Gloria. “I can teach you.”

“There’s no use,” Cecilia answered. “I have clumsy fingers. And besides, I don’t have anyone to knit for.”

“Nonsense. Anyone who is as skilled in the kitchen as you has fingers that can knit. And you may not have grandchildren to knit for, there are charities that accept knitting. The hospital is always looking for hats for newborns. Or you can knit a blanket for the Linus Project.”

The women agreed that Cecilia would try, and Gloria retrieved a pair of long needles as thick as her finger and medium-weight yarn from her stash.

“You know how to tie a slip knot, right?”

Cecilia did, and Gloria showed her how to knit into it to cast on stitches. After several clumsy attempts, Cecilia felt she had the hang of it.

In less than an hour, Cecilia was nearly an inch into a patch of a blanket for the Linus Project.

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The Linus Project accepts blankets for children in need.  Although I personally have never made a blanket for them, they are a worthwhile charity and Cecilia is happy to find a charity she can support.