Today will bring unexpected

things. I already know that. I also know that there will be some beautiful things.
Yes, I am off to be a steward in the Handicraft section of the state's annual show again. I'll be down at the showgrounds several times this week.
It's hard work but it is also interesting in a way I never expected. As I was making sure I had all I needed last night I was thinking about the first time I did this.
I had no idea what to expect. I felt as if I was an absolute nuisance. Everyone else was rushing around and seemed to know exactly what they were doing.
I gave a piteous miaou, "What do you want me to do?"
Someone took pity on me. I did what I was told to do it. It was simple. I watched. I found out what else needed to be done. We were actually ready when the judge arrived for the section I was working on. I knew her and that was fine too.
The thing that I still remember most though was how much I managed to learn from watching the judge. She homed in on the first class, picked an item up and - before she had even apparently looked at it - she had turned it inside out and run her fingers along the seams. Then she shook her head and put it to one side. The process was repeated. There were seven or eight garments there and she put them in two piles. Then she went back to one pile and laid them out, right side out. She looked closely at each one and said, "The stitches could be better picked up along the neckline or I'd give that a first. I like this one because...." 
And so it went on. Occasionally she would scribble a little note to the exhibitor on the back of the entry card. 
The other steward was writing the results on the sheets provided. I folded things neatly, ready for later when we would put things into cabinets. 
And all the while I was learning...I was learning to pay real attention to detail. 
This morning I will take some items I have already been given down to the showgrounds. They will be locked into a cabinet ready for  Thursday - the day the knitting and crochet get judged. I have not looked at them yet. That's not my job. I'll wait until the judge is doing her job - and then I will learn some more.
 
Has my own knitting improved as a result of doing this? Yes, definitely. I've been very fortunate to be given the chance.