Objet du Jour. . . With Gratitude

Ok, this is an odd one, I'll admit, but one from the heart. This is an Object of the Day that also serves as a Gratitude of the Day for me. Yes, that's right: a scissors. More specifically, the Softouch Micro-Tip Scissors, from Fiskars.

Most crafters know that Fiskars tools are of good quality: reliable, sturdy, user-friendly, and so on. But this little scissors above goes beyond that. It's a lifesaver. At least, it has been in my case, of late.

You see, for the past six or eight weeks I have had the worst case of tendonitis in my right arm that I have ever had. I can't just call it "tennis elbow" any more, because it has spread. (I know nothing of anatomy; I can only say that the pain has more locations and is brought on by SO many more types of movements.) If it's getting better, it's doing so at a rate so slow that I can't detect improvement at all. My doctor's advice: wear this arm thingy, take three ibuprofen three times a day, and don't use your right arm for the next two to six weeks.

Great. I am, of course, right-handed.

I do a lot of detailed paper-cutting in my craft work, and it brings me great pleasure. But it's one of the activities that brings the pain on. (Typing, somehow, does not.) I was in despair until I brought home the scissors in question.

I thought it might allow me to cut with my right hand. It didn't accomplish this. But here's what has totally blown me away: I can use it to do detail cutting with my left hand. With my left hand! Have you ever tried this? Try it now. Rip a picture of a person out of a magazine. Now, take a regular pair of small scissors and use your non-dominant hand (left, for us righties, and right, for you lefties) to cut around the person's outline, as though making a paper doll.

Are we having fun yet? Have you lopped off the person's arm? Or your own finger? For most of us, using our "other" hand for anything that requires fine-motor coordination is a disaster. Take a pencil and write this sentence with your left hand.

How's it going? Here's mine:

Mine is probably a little better than most as I've had more practice: I had a broken right wrist in 2001.

Ok, I know this is a goofy post and that I've gone on and on about something kinda trivial. But let me tell you. With the pain and discouragement I've had over this tendonitis thing, today's Objet has made a non-trivial difference in my life.

And for that I am grateful.

tags:
scissors
crafts
tendonitis
Fiskars