​I usually like to write something humorous and encouraging here, but not this week.
 
Today I’d like to tell you about two women I love very much.
 
This first is my sister-in-law, Mary Jo. We lost my brother’s wife, MJ, to cancer in 2015. She carried the BRCA mutation and spent most of 20 years fighting breast and ovarian cancer. She bred English Bulldogs, rode horses, was a practicing dog behaviorist, played multiple instruments, had fiery red hair that could only be tamed with copious amounts of hairspray and was an absolute badass. MJ was one of the strongest, bravest, most direct women I ever knew. She got her first bulldog for security, because she wanted a dog that lookedlike it would take your leg off but wouldn’t. I pity the person who ever tested that theory, because they had way more to fear from M herself than her dogs. But she also taught me that you never work with a dog with anything but love in your hands, even when you are correcting them. She was a bright, smart, funny woman, whom my brother loved deeply, and we still miss. 

​Ok, not really. I mean, kind of…never mind. That’s not what this is about.
 
But I did PLAY Unstable Unicorns. Tabletop gaming isn’t really my thing, but I was with a group who love it, so I was willing. If you’ve never seen this game, the idea is to build a “stable” of 7 unicorns to win. Some have magical powers, some are hipsters, some are puppicorns or narwhals. It’s worth the Google, because the whole thing is pretty adorable.
 
But here’s the thing: it was my first time playing, and I got *thisclose* to winning. Why?
 
Because I was knitting, and no one thought I was focused on the game. 
 
We’ve all been there. On a conference call; in a meeting; during jury duty, and we’re happily knitting away, participating in the conversation, but the non-knitters in the room assume we aren’t paying attention (there’s usually a snarky comment involved). And WE know that’s not true.