A month of gifts, day 27: The Gift of Good Teachers

This weekend, I learned a new thing! Or at least, the beginnings of a new thing. I've been trying to teach myself to crochet for years now, but all my efforts ended in a tangle of yarn and profanity. Yesterday, I spent the afternoon with a friend who's great at a number of fiber arts, and she showed me the basics of crocheting. So during today's Bills game, I did this:

It's not exactly even, but it's so far beyond any of my previous attempts, I'm delighted. And it's all thanks to having a good, patient teacher to show me the way.

I'm grateful for all the good teachers in my life, from my mom and dad, through the men and women during my school days, to my friend Jennifer yesterday. My life is so much better because of them. And now I can look forward to building this new skill, and maybe making some magic for people I love.

For me, the hardest part of learning a new skill is quelling my inner perfectionist. I've always hated being wrong and making mistakes, so it's a challenge--and a good one--to step up and be really bad at something. And now I'm pondering things I've put aside in the past, or the ones I haven't even tried yet for fear of how much I'm going to suck at first. This year, given my plan to take a break from social media, I'll have time to try new things. Maybe I'll start drawing again. Maybe I'll finally get that guitar I've been thinking about learning to play.

The possibilities are endless.