Mrs. Teabody Takes to Her Sewing Machine
Happy FRIDAY Morning, Gentle Reader!
Mother Nature is offering a rain-soaked pre-dawn, but in spite of the sogginess ahead, Mrs. Teabody can almost hear the smiles forming on your faces as you realize that after you survive today - - and you will! -- and its demands, you will once again be master of your universe, and the risk of an unpleasant encounter with the forces that hold dominion over your workaday world will fade to airy nothing. Mrs. Teabody herself once worked in the real world and her experiences with bosses ran the gamut from bright, intuitive, and compassionate to clueless, misogynist and incompetent, and she hopes your workaday world is in the masterful hands of the former sort. Everyone is happier working for a leader who actually knows what he or she is doing, after all, do you not agree, Gentle Reader? And if you are one of those bosses, Mrs. Teabody knows you are of the very best type.
Mrs. Teabody wonders if any of you physically "punch" a time clock. Mrs. Teabody did so at two different places of employment and seeing the blue ink filling up the stiff card as the working week progressed held some odd satisfaction. A sense of accomplishment.
Rest assured, Mrs. Teabody does not long for the days of "clocking in." She is merely rambling along memory lane and had not gone down this particular dog's leg in a long while.
Today Mrs. Teabody wishes to talk about skills, specifically the skill of sewing with a sewing machine. According to the online Free Dictionary, a skill is " A proficiency, facility, or dexterity that is acquired or developed through training or experience." Doubtless you yourself possess many skills, Gentle Reader. A skillful person can do amazing feats after all. Yesterday afternoon, Mrs. Teabody decided to hem the new dining room drapes with her ancient sewing machine, a sewing machine she "inherited" when her roommate during student teaching days abandoned ship leaving her bed, several odd possessions, and her young dog, a mixed terrier named Sloopy who would mature to become an almost legendary "Coon Hound" in the skillful hands of Mrs. Teabody's father. But to the point.
Mrs. Teabody learned how to sew with a sewing machine under the careful and patient guidance of her Home Economics teacher, Mrs. Helen Long, who was wont to say, "First we are going to stitch, and then we are going to rip." ( Knowing the dual meaning of "rip" in this time always made Mrs. Teabody laugh up her sleeve.) Before you make light of this "skill," Gentle Reader, Mrs. Teabody invites you to sit in front of an ancient sewing machine, fill a bobbin with thread, and then prepare the machine for sewing. It is only intuitive if one possesses the skill.
As is the case in all Mrs. Teabody's endeavors, all did not go smoothly, but Mrs. Teabody did manage to pull off the task with acceptable results and minimal bloodshed, and what more can anyone truly ask? Mrs. Teabody thanks Mrs. Long for providing her with a skill that has been useful her entire life, and she laments the fact that the skill of sewing is no longer taught in the public schools. Apparently, No Child ( should be) Left Behind knowing how to sew. Mirthless snort.
Mother Nature is offering a rain-soaked pre-dawn, but in spite of the sogginess ahead, Mrs. Teabody can almost hear the smiles forming on your faces as you realize that after you survive today - - and you will! -- and its demands, you will once again be master of your universe, and the risk of an unpleasant encounter with the forces that hold dominion over your workaday world will fade to airy nothing. Mrs. Teabody herself once worked in the real world and her experiences with bosses ran the gamut from bright, intuitive, and compassionate to clueless, misogynist and incompetent, and she hopes your workaday world is in the masterful hands of the former sort. Everyone is happier working for a leader who actually knows what he or she is doing, after all, do you not agree, Gentle Reader? And if you are one of those bosses, Mrs. Teabody knows you are of the very best type.
Mrs. Teabody wonders if any of you physically "punch" a time clock. Mrs. Teabody did so at two different places of employment and seeing the blue ink filling up the stiff card as the working week progressed held some odd satisfaction. A sense of accomplishment.
Rest assured, Mrs. Teabody does not long for the days of "clocking in." She is merely rambling along memory lane and had not gone down this particular dog's leg in a long while.
Today Mrs. Teabody wishes to talk about skills, specifically the skill of sewing with a sewing machine. According to the online Free Dictionary, a skill is " A proficiency, facility, or dexterity that is acquired or developed through training or experience." Doubtless you yourself possess many skills, Gentle Reader. A skillful person can do amazing feats after all. Yesterday afternoon, Mrs. Teabody decided to hem the new dining room drapes with her ancient sewing machine, a sewing machine she "inherited" when her roommate during student teaching days abandoned ship leaving her bed, several odd possessions, and her young dog, a mixed terrier named Sloopy who would mature to become an almost legendary "Coon Hound" in the skillful hands of Mrs. Teabody's father. But to the point.
Mrs. Teabody learned how to sew with a sewing machine under the careful and patient guidance of her Home Economics teacher, Mrs. Helen Long, who was wont to say, "First we are going to stitch, and then we are going to rip." ( Knowing the dual meaning of "rip" in this time always made Mrs. Teabody laugh up her sleeve.) Before you make light of this "skill," Gentle Reader, Mrs. Teabody invites you to sit in front of an ancient sewing machine, fill a bobbin with thread, and then prepare the machine for sewing. It is only intuitive if one possesses the skill.
As is the case in all Mrs. Teabody's endeavors, all did not go smoothly, but Mrs. Teabody did manage to pull off the task with acceptable results and minimal bloodshed, and what more can anyone truly ask? Mrs. Teabody thanks Mrs. Long for providing her with a skill that has been useful her entire life, and she laments the fact that the skill of sewing is no longer taught in the public schools. Apparently, No Child ( should be) Left Behind knowing how to sew. Mirthless snort.
For once, Mrs. Teabody has time to prepare a morning meal before Mrs. Moppit arrives and she will sit at the dining room table enjoying the companionship of Mr. Teabody and admire the skillful hemming of the dining room draperies. Mrs. Teabody asks you, Gentle Reader, to recall a skill you possess and use it to some good effect in the coming days. Even if it is the skill of reading, and you certainly would not be reading these words if you did not possess the "proficiency, facility, or dexterity" to do so. Lucky, lucky you!
Ta for now, Darlings!
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