December 10: But

Sarah’s favorite sentence construction of late involves words preceding “but” and then the word “but” with nothing after it. We aren’t exactly sure how this came about, but….

It may be from some episodes of Daniel Tiger and/or when Sarah's bus driver tried to console her when there wasn’t a lot of rain when she wanted rain and he said, “It’s ok to feel disappointed, but…” I’m sure he actually said more words, but Sarah can’t tell us what they were. I’m equally sure Mom or Dad Tiger said words after their “but” but I don’t know what they were. Sarah got out the book My Friend is Sad by Mo Willems and turned it to one of the pages in which Piggie says, “But…” and cracks up looking at it. She often wants us to dialogue with her, pretending to be Gerald saying, “but you were not there to see him” so she can be Piggie saying, “But.” Sarah made a book with Anna that has pictures of tigers and the word “but” on every page. That’s it. No other words are needed. Carl and I have been enjoying the hilarity of having a long preamble about something, saying, “but” and then just leaving it as is. 

Amy figured out how to make her Schroth exercises more palatable. She has her American girl doll, who also has a brace, do the exercises with her, whether on a small ball or small chair or small blocks. It is really adorable. I love how Amy brings her creativity to any situation to make it better. 

It was another week packed full of things. I remind myself that we aren’t overloaded. We are at capacity, but it’s not too much. And it’s all good things. It is also true that we haven’t had a lot of flex time, and we sometimes have to get creative about arrangements. Wednesday evening there was a neighborhood holiday potluck. We haven’t been to one since maybe before the pandemic, unless my memory is faulty. You could also tell me I was there last year and I would believe you, although I think it has been years. The girls still made a beeline for the kids' room, and though they were massively too big for some of the bikes, that didn’t stop them from riding. Amy took a coloring book and drew a scoliosis brace on one of the Disney princesses and wrote “scoliosis strong” on it. I hope that someone else who goes through that coloring book in the future may find a surprise of support just when they need it.

I’ve been contemplating my own work lately and realizing that just because I’m good at something isn’t a reason to do it. The reason to do it is if I still love it, and luckily I do still love all of my jobs. After 21 years of studying the Alexander Technique, and over 16 years as a teacher, I am finally realizing I might actually know a bit about it and be able to teach others without always second-guessing my abilities. Also, how can I be old enough to have those numbers make sense? 

I hope you have wonderful weeks. I do not have answers to any life questions, but…