The Learning Curve

So after I posted yesterday, I sat on the couch with all the pieces of the first sweater that I have knitted that has to be sewn together (my first two were knit all in one piece).  And as I was starting the project of seaming, my husband was describing this opportunity that he missed at his new job because he just had no idea how things worked.  We both were in agreement that it was just part of the learning curve and there’s no way to know all of these things until they happen.  Then I proceeded to get really frustrated that I didn’t really know how to sew these seams.  I looked it up on a few websites to find tips and advice, but it was kind of hard and not working at first.  It was apparent that while it was easy to have understanding for someone else in their learning curve, I still somehow expect that I won’t have one.

What I thought was sort of interesting was that it wasn’t so much that I was feeling bad because I thought I should already know how to do it (which is a common one, I think), but that because I am smart and generally capable, I should just be able to, that it shouldn’t be hard.  I don't know how, but it will be easy (a slightly different variation on the theme).  It turns out that I am just a regular person who has a hard time the first time I do something, just like I have been talking about.  I remember someone saying that everyone wants to be extraordinary, but the most extraordinary thing is being ordinary. 

So, of course, I stuck with it (the seaming) and got the hang of it, though I suspect it will look like my first seamed sweater (if it even fits—there may be another blog coming soon on that).