A clueless day

Friday evening, one of the physicians at work asked me what I was going to be doing over the weekend. “Cutting my aunts’ toenails,” I replied. He didn’t think this sounded terribly exciting, but actually it was nice. They came, got their nails done, and we all drank tea and looked at New Yorker cartoons. Then I hunkered down to listen to an audio tape of Emma, and work on my shawl. The readings and homily at Mass this morning were all about light and seeing clearly – the Man Born Blind and Samuel selecting David as God’s anointed (one of Rebecca’s favorite readings). Listening to it all, I realized that Emma and my knitting fit right in with the themes of the day. And so did I. The first time I read Emma, I was as clueless as she, was totally taken in by Frank Churchill, and was surprised by the ending. Listening to it now, I could not imagine how I could ever have missed what was coming. Further, (related to cluelessness, not to Emma), I had tried at least five times to start a particular knitting pattern at the beginning of my shawl, but I simply could not get it going. So I gave up and selected an easier pattern. After that pattern was thoroughly established, I was able to switch to the more complicated pattern and finally get a repeat done without mishap. So, just as Samuel, the Man Born Blind, and Emma have seen the light, so did I on my lace shawl.