Sober Living by the Sea and Knots of Love Team Up to Make Caps

Sober Living by the Sea has always used activities to build momentum in recovery.  In Newport Beach, there are many things to do that provide inspiration and a break from the therapeutic processes that encompass the treatment program.

One new addition to the activities is the participation in the Knots of Love knitting and crocheting programs.  Knots of Love is an organization that brings knitted caps to cancer patients who have lost their hair due to chemotherapy treatments.  Founded by Christine Shively in 2007, Knots of Love now donates over 3,000 knitted and crocheted caps monthly to cancer patients who appreciate feeling cared for and appreciate the alternative to an itchy wig.

On Tuesday, July 7th 2010 about twenty five clients and staff members pitched in to make knitted caps in the Tiki Room.  The activity was enjoyed by men and women alike. While the social aspect of knitting put everyone in a good mood, the activity had a profound effect on some participants.  

One girl (from the Extended Care Program) emotionally recounted learning how to knit from her grandmother who is now deceased.  She contemplated the years gone by since those lessons and how she was a very young girl the last time she knitted - many years before the journey of her life led her to Sober Living by the Sea for treatment.  In the treatment field, we know it is powerful to reconnect with childhood memories and activities - particularly those that brought joy before experimentation with drugs or alcohol began.
 
Overheard during the knitting session were the clients and staff talking as equals about the shared experience of life and recovery. Cancer is a disease which has touched the lives of almost everyone and several of the participants had seen a loved one succumb to cancer.  There was occasional sadness peppered in among the good natured laughing but the process of talking and sharing during such an estimable activity left everyone glowing after.  This was not “just another day in paradise,” but then again -  it never is around here.