Ponchos Everywhere!

A few weeks ago, my daughter S and I were at Mervyn's doing some last-minute back-to-school clothes shopping. She liked this light poncho that served as a cape over a tank top. But I had to tell her no, because the price tag was pretty hard to swallow. Plus we were getting two other tops for her already.

"If you really want a poncho like this," I told her, "I can knit one for you."

We went to get some yarn that weekend. The day after that, I looked for some patterns online and let S choose one that she likes. Less than a week later, a baby blue poncho was born.

I didn't follow the instructions to a tee. The poncho we saw at the store isn't formed from a square like most of the ponchos you see. Rather, it's shaped like a short cape. So instead of knitting a rectangle like the pattern we found, I used circular needles to knit it like a round skirt.

When the poncho was done, S wore it for a while and decided that the collar was too loose. So I crocheted a chain to thread around the collar and shirr it up. A pom-pom on each end of the chain completed the picture.

S was very happy with the results and wears it everywhere she goes. :)

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I told a friend the other day that I was knitting a poncho for S. "Oh they're all the rage this season. I want one myself!" She enthused.

Yep, you can see department store ads showcasing ponchos like they're the coolest thing. Some even go so far as to declare them "the Must-Haves!"

All that fever might make any girl want to grab a poncho off the closest rack. But like all past fashion trends, ponchos aren't for everyone.

A well-endowed young lady should still stick with those curve-hugging tops and jackets, preferably with a pinch of spandex in the fabric. Most likely, a poncho will make one look lumpy and cumbersome.

But ponchos are perfectly suitable for little girls (so cute!) and skinny women (very impish). Bottom line: If you're not sure, don't wear them if you have breasts, unless it's a lightweight poncho that you can see through it.

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff

My daughter has always been very particular about things. We've kind of attributed it to her idiosyncrasy and left it at that. But the other day after she had a fit about some very unimportant thing, I finally had to ask her, "Have you ever heard of the expression, 'Don't sweat the small stuff?'"

She shot me a dirty look and grudgingly said no.

"Well," I proceeded, "it means you shouldn't be so particular about everything. When something is important, you need to be precise, of course. But little details that aren't so important shouldn't drive you crazy."

The aforementioned fit happened while we were playing ping-pong. Twice that day she broke down in tears while playing ping-pong, all because I didn't make the ball land where she could hit it.

Mind you, I'm not a very good ping-pong player. So how was I supposed to make that tiny ball land at will, just so my precious angel wouldn't have a temper tantrum when she missed the ball?

It was frustrating when all she could talk about was how those shots were so impossible, with tears and sobs throughout her tirade. I almost wanted to yell, "How do you think it makes me feel, when I do want to make it easy for you but don't have the skills to pull it off? I already told you I'm not good at ping-pong. What do you want from me?!"

But after I realized all the consolation in the world couldn't stop that tantrum from running its course, I gave up on trying. Instead I told her, why don't you cry in your bedroom because I can't hear it any more. And she came out, an hour or so later, a happy camper again.

I don't want to --and refuse to-- sweat the small stuff.