So thanks to D., I'm a crocheting fiend. She taught me how last December, and I quickly graduated from potholders to scarves to hats. I recently crocheted a baby blanket and matching hat for a fellow student who's due next month, and now I'm working on a sweater. I love how it calms and soothes me and how productive I feel as I see the rows accumulate. What's the problem, you ask? Shoulders. And hands. Crocheting irritates the tendonitis I have in my shoulders (for which I'm in physical therapy), and recently my fingers have started to protest. I've been able to keep it pretty much at bay by limiting the amount of time I do it in one sitting, but when I got near the end of the blanket, I couldn't stop myself, and I knotted yarn for hours until it was done. I haven't recovered from that yet. It's incredibly addictive.
I've had this moderation problem all my life. The arthritis in my knees is, of course, due to over-use and the resultant tendonitis I've had since I was 16. But I also, according to my knee surgeon, have misaligned legs that predispose me for my condition, so I would have developed it anyway. So where is the line? Is it my fault? Is it my body's?
It just kills me that I found something I enjoy so much that also causes me more pain. I don't know how not to make that sound like whining, so I guess I (and you?) will just have to indulge myself. This is a blog after all.