I give you the 32nd president of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, knitting:

I have to admit that my knitting has been slipping a little bit lately. Sure, I turn in my one or two puffs a month here and there, but that’s about it. Even seeing Sara knit beautiful creation after beautiful creation for Christmas didn’t really spark my imagination. I only have time to really focus on one hobby at a time, and it hasn’t been knitting.

Then I got the idea to make something for Oliver for his birthday, and suddenly I’m re-energized! And enjoying it too: it’s the biggest thing I’ve ever tried to tackle, following a pattern and everything. It’s surprising to me how much I actually understand without having to ask Sara, and yet how it’s a little bit more challenging, like I’m pushing the envelope *just enough* to be interesting, but not scary.

In fact, I already decided on my next project after this one. Here’s hoping the enthusiasm holds!

Of course there are costs to everything. I was hoping to finish my fledgling novel by Oliver’s birthday. Christmas stalled out progress at about 17,000 words, and I’ve only added about 1,000 since then. In other words, I have a loooong way to go yet. Between everything else I have to do, every hour I spend knitting is one I don’t spend writing. My writing output is already preciously low, and I regret every hour I don’t spend on it.

On the other hand, when I’m worn out at the end of the day, I can quickly pick up my knitting. It’s hard to be in the mood for writing after a long day, and it takes a certain amount of time to really get into it, especially if it’s been several weeks since the last time I wrote.

I guess if FDR could knit and run for the presidency, I can knit and write.