Better Preparations

If I'm busy with something, I tend to not notice my headaches. That works until I can't distract myself or until it just hurts so much that's all I can think about. This happens so often when my friends have a party. I know it's my own doing, and I'm sure the biggest culprit is dehydration followed closely by hunger. I hope I will remember this so I can better prepare myself (read: drink lots of water and eat regular meals) for next time.

I actually did a fine job of distracting myself. We went early to help set up. I did drink a Coke in hopes that the caffeine would calm my headache, but then I went to water and stuck with it for the rest of the night. I should have done something about eating actual lunch, though. There were many people there, I'm pretty sure it was the most I've seen, and plenty of new people to get to know and established friends to talk to. I even brought a Garden Gnome in progress to work on after our feast, to keep my mind off of the dull thump at my temple. If I still got migraines, this would have been one.

Oddly enough, my crocheting made for things to talk about. I presented a friend with the little C'thulhu, and he was popular. I also managed to get several orders for a video game creature (I think we arrived at four for the same thing), and one for a Garden Gnome and a Slyph and possibly a Happy Uterus (I know I haven't showed you that one yet. Yes, you read it right). Some of my friends even offered to sell them at Pagan Spirit Gathering in July, so we can get an idea of how they move. I was hoping to have my shop up and running by then, and I likely will. At the same time, I'm super happy to supply some things for the festival (though I won't be able to attend it myself).

One of my friends was talking about someone who offered a workshop on knitting and meditation. We chatted briefly about this, and I totally believe it is effective. Knitting, just like crocheting, is a repetitive process just like repeating a mantra or moving the beads of a mala. There's even a book on the market about making prayer shawls (mom bought the book, we both have prayer shawls, I'd love to make more. Hmm...I think I have another product....). I talked about the process of making my three-legged good luck pigs, which are filled with intent and Reiki in every stitch. Believe it or not, it occurred to me this morning just how effective a meditation tool it can be. I say this because I didn't notice my headache at all while I was finishing the Garden Gnome I had been working on. Once I was done with it, and people had oogled to my delight, my mind was out of distractions and it hit me full-force. It was also getting late, so it was a fine time to be leaving anyway.

Of course, when we got home, my head was pounding (still not a migraine) so much that I actually felt quite ill. I know I slept like a rock. Miss Luna has taken to waking me up around 0515, just a few minutes before my first alarm goes off. I can live with this. I'm feeling very zombie-like today, and still have a bit of a headache, much much less in intensity than it was last night. True, I haven't eaten breakfast, and I've only drunk my coffee. I'll take care of that in a minute.

I'm thinking I shall have to approach my crocheting time a little differently. I did mention that I felt it could be used as a meditative process, but just realized today how well it actually worked. I'm going to try to remember this. I think it will help me to think of my work not as work, but as a time to relax, to calm my mind and focus on the action and purpose of the work, not just the work. This is what I do when making three-legged good luck pigs, but I think it will be beneficial if I do that with all my creatures.

What a great thing to discover what I already knew!