Week 3 - Day 7: Don't fear frogging

Frogging is a knitters term. It means to take a project apart. To frog a thing is let go of all the work you did, all the time and effort, and return the thing back to its original state -- yarn.

Why is it called "frogging"?

Because when you realize, the thing you've been working on isn't working, you must 'rip it, rip it' apart.

And that thing, whatever the thing is that you spent so much time on--hours, weeks, maybe even months--well, that thing unravels in minutes. Row by row, you undo the stitches and wind the yarn back into a ball, until the thing--the thing into which you put so much energy--it is as if that thing never was... and there maybe a bit of sadness. A pang of regret.

Rationally, you know you made the right choice. The thing didn't work.  You wanted it to work. You tried to make it work. But it didn't work. So you did what had to be done, and let go of the thing, the thing that didn't work.

Questions may poke at you. Why didn't the thing work? Why didn't the thing look like it was supposed to? Why didn't I have the skill to fix the problem with the thing? Why didn't the thing feel right? All the potential of what the thing could have been... gone. Undone, by your own two hands... returned to a ball of yarn.

After the sadness and regret, you realize there is another feeling. You feel excited. You have a ball of yarn! You have the materiel needed to make a new thing! An amazing thing! A thing way better than that last thing you tried to make. This new thing will fit. This thing will suit you. This thing will be fun to make and bring you joy. This new thing--this thing that you have yet to make--has so much potential that you can't wait to get started. You can't wait to reach the end and see how great this thing turns out... And if this new thing doesn't turn out great... Well, you can always frog it.