A Cure for Restless Legs

I've had restless legs syndrome for many years. Sitting in the evening with my husband, watching TV or reading, my legs had a life of their own, twisting, squirming, jiggling, jerking to some strange inner compulsive rhythm I had no control over.

And then I started knitting. It was magic! As long as my hands were busy my legs behaved like the obedient appendages they were meant to be!

In the course of our relocation from Minnesota to Oregon this summer, the knitting was set aside—first because it was hidden away in some inaccessible spot in a truck or in our garage and later because I just didn't have time. But last night I finally picked up the sweater with one sleeve and began to add the second. Voilá! The dancing legs settle down once again. A minor domestic miracle of the first water.

The wife of the friend my husband is driving to Kansas with is staying with me. There we were last night, cozy in front of the gas fireplace in the living room knitting away at our separate projects. I shared the wisdom of the RLS cure, and we sat in the precious companionship of women doing handwork, occasionally speaking, mostly quiet, evoking an earlier and slower time when our grandmothers hands were always busy.

I'll bet their legs only danced when the music played!