Tangles and Clutter

   In Jerry Spinelli’s novel for young people entitled Maniac Magee, the main character is able to undo the legendary Cobble’s Knot.  The size of a volleyball, it is as complicated as the brain of Einstein.  This knot symbolizes the problem of racism in the book.

   A couple of weekends ago, I was working away at a larger, more colourful knot of yarn my mother-in-law purchased at a yard sale for two dollars. (I did not finish!)  Patience and effort were needed to extract its usable components, which would eventually become knitted into toques. Every fall, dozens of care packages for men and women working on ships are assembled in my mother-in-law’s living room, and each of them contains a knitted hat. 

   I pondered that the knot of yarn is also a symbol of a cluttered life.  I have a counter that continually gathers “stuff,” and it takes patience and effort to reclaim the counter space for its intended use—food preparation.  The same thing can happen with garages, closets and junk drawers.  This is a good reminder for me to do a bit of decluttering every day instead of waiting until it grows as unmanageable as this tangle of yarn.