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<\/a>I have been knitting since I was 14 years old.\u00a0 It is a passion that has held me in good stead<\/strong> through my youthful dating years (more sweaters knit for undeserving boyfriends than I can count), marriage, divorce, singledom again, and re-marriage.\u00a0\u00a0I have turned to knitting in good times and bad and the craft has not only provided me warmth and some Zen-like moments, but a whole host of friends with like-minded interests.\u00a0 Only someone who also has a passion can understand the joy of immersing yourself in a hobby<\/strong> and learning everything you can about it.\u00a0 I came to that realization a few years ago when I hosted a dinner party with people who\u00a0also had a passion for something.\u00a0 One guest\u00a0was having a long\u00a0conversation with a man about her horse show experiences when she suddenly said, “Oh, I’m so sorry.\u00a0 I’m sure I’m boring you to death<\/strong> with this stuff.”\u00a0 To which he replied, “No, I get it.\u00a0 I love racing\u00a0cars.\u00a0 So while I don’t understand the horse show particulars, I\u00a0can relate to anyone who has a passion.”\u00a0 I’ve never forgotten that moment.\u00a0 It was when I realized that it was less important what<\/em> my hobby was than the fact that I had one,\u00a0even if some people think of it as a “grandma” sport.![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Hobbies-239x300.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nAs I gave more thought to hobbies\u00a0I decided it might be interesting to see how other people choose to spend their time<\/strong> – what tickles the imagination or gets people wound up.\u00a0\u00a0I found the latest Harris Poll on the subject and the answer is so discouraging that I wish I could “un-know” it.\u00a0 First of all, there is a wide definition<\/strong> of what constitutes a hobby.\u00a0 For example,\u00a0the number one hobby in the United States is reading.\u00a0 Okay, I get that reading could be a hobby, especially if you are researching or have a particular interest in a subject matter.\u00a0 But “reading” also included romance novels and magazines<\/strong> which, frankly, sound more like something one would do in the bathtub or while waiting for the clothes to come out of the dryer.\u00a0 But at least “reading” has some virtue to it which was comforting\u00a0because the second most popular hobby is “watching television”.\u00a0 Wow.\u00a0 Under that definition everyone who\u00a0sits on a Barco lounger<\/strong> eating Doritos and drinking Miller Lite is\u00a0taking part in their hobby.\u00a0 I know people who have gotten divorced over one spouse spending too much time with their “hobby” during football season.<\/p>\n I’m glad that I have my knitting to sustain me.\u00a0 I have a walk-in closet full of yarn and feel quite confident that in the event of a nuclear holocaust<\/strong> I will be able to remain in my home and entertain myself for weeks on end.\u00a0 I have recently purchased a knitting machine which, despite how it sounds, is an entirely different craft<\/strong> and is keeping my feeble brain exercised in trying to master it.\u00a0 Another reason I’m glad\u00a0I knit is that I also golf.\u00a0 As any golfer knows, the very act of swinging the club wreaks havoc<\/strong> on just about every body part.\u00a0 So, as my knitter-golfer friends like to say, golfers who have no other passion are just one bad back<\/strong> – or rainy day – away from having nothing to do.\u00a0 Maybe those guys on the PGA should learn how to knit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Suzanne Sparrow Watson I have been knitting since I was 14 years old.\u00a0 It is a passion that has held me in good stead through my youthful dating years (more sweaters knit for undeserving boyfriends than I can count), … read more![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/guy-sleeping-300x204.jpg\")
<\/a>Gardening and fishing<\/strong> are also very popular, depending on the region of the country you live in, but “Computer” beat them both out.\u00a0 I’d like to think that some people listed that as a pastime because they\u00a0are learning about programming<\/strong> or graphic design.\u00a0 I think the reality is that people are watching cat videos on You Tube or playing endless games of Candy Crush.\u00a0\u00a0“Shopping”\u00a0cracked the Top 15 in terms of hobbies but that also seems like cheating to me.\u00a0 I think shopping falls into two categories:\u00a0 1) things that are necessary\u00a0like work clothes and groceries or\u00a02) stuff we don’t need but buy because we’re bored\/lured by a sale\/haven’t hit the limit on the credit card yet.\u00a0 Housework and sleeping<\/strong> were also on the list, which again, seem\u00a0to be skirting the real definition of a hobby.\u00a0 For many years my former company asked people to list their hobbies on the employment application and I can tell you that not once did anyone list “sleeping”, although we later found out the hard way<\/strong> that it was, in fact, their strong suit.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/bad-back-300x200.jpg\")
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