Knitting for charity

Everyone knows I love knitting, that's no secret. I love knitting for others. I love giving a gift of something knitted at Christmas time, Birthdays, and pretty much anytime of the year. But I never really thought about how I could help others with my knitting. 

I read about how a group of ladies from prison knit toys for abused kids, how a lady knits tiny blankets for neonatal intensive care units, but I have never really thought about doing it myself. I do volunteer some of my time to teach children how to knit, but I don't know why I never thought to actually knit items for a charity. 

So this Month I have started knitting baby hats for my local hospital who gives a baby hat to every newborn baby when they are first born to help them not lose any of there birth weigh. I cannot take credit for even the idea of making these hats as I was approached with the idea to maybe teach it as a class. But I was and am very excited to take on the opportunity to help teach others how to knit these baby hats and to start knitting them also. 

I have a great crew working away on these hats and am standing by if any of them need help :) Of course it is all volunteer, I do not charge to teach how to knit these hats. And it feels great to help! I am helping in a way that I can, even though I never thought of it myself! 

Sometimes we don't think of things we can do for others, and I am glad that it was brought to my attention! I am glad that now I can start using my knitting skills in different ways that will help others. And I hope you can think of ways to use your skills to help others also :) We all need to help, even by doing little things! 

Here is the beginning to one of these teeny tiny baby hats :) 

Today.....not so good

Sometimes you just have to deal with it. Feeling blue, being sad, feeling down. Some people when they feel like this will even say they are so depressed. But really, is after having a bad day really mean you are depressed? If you are sad because not everything in your day turn out like you hoped for does that mean you are depressed? Wikipedia describes Depression like this,

Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person's thoughts, behavior, feelings and sense of well-being. People with depressed mood can feel sad, anxious, empty, hopeless, helpless, worthless, guilty, irritable, ashamed or restless. They may lose interest in activities that were once pleasurable, experience loss of appetite or overeating, have problems concentrating, remembering details or making decisions, and may contemplate, attempt or commit suicide. Insomnia, excessive sleeping, fatigue, aches, pains, digestive problems or reduced energy may also be present. 

I have Depression. I was diagnosed with depression and have been dealing with depression for years. Dealing with it mostly alone. Trying to get through the hopeless feelings that comes with this mood disorder all by my lonesome. Dealing with the shame that comes with having a mood disorder by myself. Yes my best friends know I suffer with this, and they do what they can, but sometimes there's nothing anyone can do. I fight this battle alone

I have been married for 14 years and we have a beautiful 13 year old daughter. I hide my feelings from her. I want her to have a normal teenage life without having to worry about her mothers moods. My husband knows also but doesn't seem to understand, or maybe he just doesn't want to understand. Maybe he is ashamed that his wife has a mood disorder. 

Usually when spring rolls around I start to feel better. This year not so much. I have written in my blog how I usually celebrate Spring because its the time of year things start to look up for me. This year it hasn't happened yet. I find myself wondering what is really wrong with me and ask why I cannot snap out of it. But maybe this is a wake up call on how I am living my life. Maybe I need to make some difficult decisions and big changes.

So I reach out to you all who have suffered with depression and have won your battles. I know it couldn't have been easy for you to win, but I bet hearing about your fight will encourage me and motivate me on the changes I need to make in mine. Cause today I need a change, because today was not so good.