A knitter's worst nightmare?

Mauricio, my favourite waiter at my favourite restaurant told me an excellent story today.

He saw me knitting and said that I reminded him of his Nonna, his beloved grandmother.

Mauricio is the eldest child in his family, and for four years enjoyed being the only child. Midway through his fourth year, his parents proudly announced that a baby was on the way, and that Mauricio was to be a big brother.

His Nonna, an avid knitter, was thrilled, and did what so many expectant grandmothers do: picked up her needles to start making a blanket for the new arrival.

Mauricio wasn't quite so happy. As is the case for many first children, he wasn't at all sure what this was going to mean for him. He was upset.

How did he choose to express his unhappiness? He would sneak into his grandmother's room and undo her knitting...

Every day, she would make some progress on the project, and the next day, little Mauricio would undo it. Apparently, it became, in the eyes of a small boy, a rather excellent game of hide and seek: where did Nonna put the knitting today?

I can only imagine the mess a four-year-old would make...

And I can also imagine that a wise and loving grandmother would nod, smile, hug the boy - and then find a very high shelf to put the project on.