A week or so ago, I had an opportunity to hang out with the Longwood Knitters, a group of fifteen or so retired women who meet every Tuesday afternoon and donate their finished products to the women and children of Haven House.

We shared more than a few laughs, a cup of tea or two, a cookie or three, and that special feeling we all get when we come together to helping others.

I also learned some important life lessons; actually they are lessons most of us have probably already learned but perhaps don't always remember when we need them.

Estelle Parks was my first teacher. She started the group in 1999 when she moved to Longwood.

Soon after she moved in, she reserved the community building Tuesday afternoons and promoted a women's sewing and social group.

For the next couple of years there were only three women who showed interest, but Estelle never gave up. She was there every Tuesday, often alone, but she was there.

We all know that most projects do not become an instant success; however, many of us would have given up after the first few months but not Estelle. She hung in year after year. So that's lesson number one, persistence pays.

Alma Ballard moved into the community in 2002. During Christmas of that year, she met Patty Mitchell, a Haven House board member, at a holiday party organized by her daughter.

Alma was sitting quietly in the family room knitting when Patti started a conversation and asked for whom she was knitting.

"I'm knitting for the needy," Alma responded.

Faster than you can say, "Here's a good idea," Patti asked if she would be interested in knitting for Haven House clients. The seed was planted.

That's lesson number two. If you keep your eyes and ears open, you'll find support for your favourite causes in the most unexpected places.

Soon after she returned home, Alma began to visit Estelle and her group (who were mainly sewers at the time) and found she thoroughly enjoyed their company.

Not wanting to appear too pushy, she waited a few weeks and then casually asked if anyone would be interested in helping her knit for Haven House clients.

The women loved the idea. Soon the word began to spread and the group began to grow.

That's lesson number three. When we have a clear goal and work together, our energy level multiplies many times over.

"I've spent years knitting for my grandchildren," Alma told me, "and now it's time to knit for others. It's payback time. And it's wonderful that at our age we are still productive."

Alma is eighty-four years old and is just about to finish her eighty fourth sweater.

"I'd love to be out and see one on someone someday," she confided in me. "I wouldn't say anything to them, but I sure would like to see someone wearing one of my sweaters.

"Tuesdays are a big part of our lives now," she continued. "We'd have to be practically down on the floor not to come. It's a big day for us and we definitely don't make doctors appointments on Tuesdays, unless perhaps it's a specialist."

There was an obvious bond of friendship as I looked at this group of women knitting for the women and children of Haven House.

And that's lesson number four. The more we do to help others, the more we get back for ourselves.

"It's not so much the knitted items the women and children will receive," Elizabeth Hume of Haven House told me. "It's them knowing that others are thinking of them. It really helps to begin the healing."

By the way, there's a Haven House in Parksville. I wonder if there are any knitters in that area that would like to knit for them.