Hold. Tie. Pull.

Friendship bracelets.  The official accessory of girlhood summer.  My 7 year old recieved her first one a few weeks ago.  "Mom!  This is so amazing!  Look what K made me!  Mom!  She made it!  For me!"  Her mouth actually hung open for a few seconds with surprise when I told her that I could teach her how to make them for her friends too.

I had to reach deep into my memory, and my craft bin of junk, to find the things required to fashion a bracelet of string.  Amazingly, I was able to produce a few tangled bundles, not in the colors she would have chosen as she so eloquently informed me, oh well... and we began our first attempt.

She wanted to watch me do the first few knots.  I talked her through what I was doing.  Choose your strands, even ones that you might not think go together sometimes end up looking wonderful.  Get them all lined up and tie a good knot, you don't want them to come apart once you get started.  You've got to anchor your knot down to something firm, so you can keep a good hold on it while you are working.  Then you start slowly, one knot at a time, the tiny loops start to form a stripe, and you'll get better at it as you go along.  Count as you go, but don't worry if you forget, you can always look back at what you have and know where you are.  Hold tight to those middle strands, never let those go, they are what keep it all together.  Hold, tie, pull.  Hold, tie, pull.  Hold, tie, pull.

She only let me do about 25 knots before she was itching to take over.  I handed over the tangle of threads and watched her talk it through.  "Knot.  Pin.  One knot at a time.  Count one, two, three, four.  Hold tight to my main strands.  Look Mom!  I'm doing it!  This is so simple!"

Yes, Love.  It's all so very simple if we let it be.

She has moved on from the leftover threads in the art bin.  She has been to the craft store with her piggy bank money to buy dazzling summer colors and 10 shades of pink.  She has upgraded from simple knots and just a few strands to fancy twists and fists full of coordinating hues, but the basic steps are still working for her.

Choose carefully and tie a good knot, you don't want your pieces to come apart once you get started.  Anchor yourself down to something and keep a good hold.  Start slowly, you'll get better as you go, but you can always look back and know where you are.  Hold tight to those middle bits, they are what keep it together.

The basic steps still work for all of us.