Of Superheroes, Comics, Knitting, and Life.

So last year was... interesting. I was dealing with a lot of pressure, not the least of which was having a baby 9 years after my last one was born, and all the adjustments that come with being pregnant again. Oh, and finishing up graduate school while pregnant, with the impending stress of my final two semesters coming while dealing with an infant, and all the sleep-deprivation goodness that comes with that territory.

Bottom line: I needed something to take the edge off, because it was ON, and it was on, big time. There was no time for novels or knitting anymore, two things that I always turned to for stress relief. I wasn't working anymore - a part-time schedule with a full-time infant? It wasn't in the cards. I was climbing the walls.

And then a friend - a fellow fangirl, mom, and knitter, who would become an even better friend in the days to come - casually mentioned that my favorite comic book character, Gambit from the X-Men, was back with his own title.

I hadn't picked up a comic book in years, but Gambit? Well... that may just be worth a trip to the comic book store. And what's one title a month, right? I could read a comic in no time. I missed my comic books, especially since losing my mind when The Avengers hit movie theatres that May. Of course, my friend upped the ante by sending me the first two issues, so now I had no excuse. I hit my local comic book store, feeling very freaked out about my 12 year absence. And I walked out with Gambit, and a few other titles.

Almost a year later, I review comic books. I go to conventions. I have a lot more than Gambit on my pull list (it's a reserved title file at your comic book store). I love superheroes. They make it all better, no matter how bad the situation seems to be. There are days when I really need them, and they're always there with their iron suits, enchanted hammers and mutant powers, no matter what time of day or night I need them. 

So, knitting. Well, that's been a journey back, too. I don't get much in the way of knitting time at home these days, but I am lucky enough to have friends who take a night out of their week, when we converge on a small coffee shop in the city and knit for a few hours. We talk about crazy things, we talk about geeky things, we laugh a whole lot, and we knit. Some days, most of my week revolves around counting down to knit night. I've been working on a scarf for almost three months - something I'd normally be able to whip out in a week or two - but I'm learning that it's all about the process. Kind of like being a new mom again.