This blog, however active I once was, has really fallen to the very tail end of priorities. It's not that I don't often sit and think about things I want to write... but things like showering, feeding my children, cleaning up after said children, working part-time as a sewing instructor, managing the demands of a VERY loud toddler, driving up and down Central Avenue, and the rare occurence of exercise... things like that tend to use my waking hours of the day and night.
This also is not a valid excuse for why I didn't revisit writing during the pandemic. For our family, it felt like we should have had extra time - but the ongoing virtual learning with anxiety, that didn't exactly spark motivation in me either. ALSO: I think I sewed nearly 500 masks for friends and strangers. That took up some creative efforts.
Anyways, in other realms of the internet - I have tried to devote Mondays to motivational messages from our vivacious preschooler Delphine. Sometimes messages happen on a Tuesday (or not at all), but it helps my overfunctioning brain to shift my perspective to what a four year old sees and experiences. All of a sudden, it becomes much easier to see the positive or remark on something new.
So to lead into why this post has anything to do with Motivational Mondays...It has a lot to do with intention, luck and kismet.
One of my Pandemic goals, or shifts, was to seriously begin thinking about learning American Sign Language (ASL). We used a very basic book when our babies were babies - and the intuitiveness always intrigued me. And the words we learned STUCK. All of my kids remember how to sign for "more" or "eat" or "baby". I was always pleasantly surprised when I got the chance to use that knowledge to say thank you to a customer at work in ASL or follow along when there is a deaf character in a tv show.
I purchased an online program to learn ASL after a Facebook friend shared it- 1st kismet!
My oldest daughter bears the biggest impact of my online lessons. I'll watch a few videos in our office/sewing room and quickly run across the hall to make her guess what my sign may mean. Fun way to annoy a 15 year old!
But my youngest daughter, Delphine, is often sitting right next to me. Drawing in MY adult coloring books (that I have officially surrendered) and halfway paying attention to Youtube videos and my screen as an instructor demonstates each new sign. She's been a fun learning partner.
This past spring, we were involved with outdoor soccer... about that time where Covid cases really were dropping off and we felt comfortable playing on playgrounds. I believe that half of the allure for kids playing any sport, is the chance to play on the slides *after* said practice. We play at the local park and the playground is just mobbed after each age group finishes their running back and forth.
One of these nights, I could see that a woman was nervously watching her child/grandchild (?) climb up the steps. It wasn't the normal type of helicopter parenting... she wasn't speaking to him, but trying desperately to keep eye contact as he weaved in among all of the other running kids. He was deaf and I could just sense her anxiety radiating off of her. I asked her if he could sign yet, and she said he only understood a few words. That's one aspect of ASL that I'll have to learn much more about - how does one teach this to a young child?
I grabbed Delphine and told her that the little boy wanted to play, but he wouldn't be able to understand if she said "Come on!" or "Let's pretend!". What makes my heart surge is how quickly she adapted. Talking is a HUGE part of her play routine and how she interacts with others. But she did her best to keep eye contact and she improvised what she thought might be the best way to show what to do next. Like patting the slide next to her or pointing in the direction of the swings.- 2nd Kismet! - They played so happily together and I hope the other woman was able to breathe a bit, knowing that if she lost the little boy into the swarm of kids still wearing soccer cleats, he'd have a new friend who knew how to communicate. It gives me goosebumps thinking about how random this interaction was.
SO. To the point. It's a Motivational Monday.
Our knowledge infects others. Our intentions infect others. And I use the word infect, finally, in a good way! We spent all of these months trying NOT to spread germs or infect another person with a virus... but we stayed home and affected each other in a myriad of ways. Was everything I did during the quarantine a good influence on my kids? NOPE. Lots of swearing, lots of impatience and self-absorption. But dang it if an online ASL class hasn't changed our perspective for the better! Given us the tools to communicate outside of what we already knew. I'll always say be more like a toddler/preschooler/kid in when facing uncertainty. I'm so proud of Delphine's giving heart and willingness to meet another human where they are.
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