Monday, November 25, 2013

Treat or Trick

On Halloween, I stayed at the house, while my husband went around the neighborhood with my daughter and some of her friends. They were the first trick-or-treaters to arrive at our house, and I could hear their excited chatter as they came up the steps. I was a little bit nervous. I wanted to greet them with the right mix of warmth, surprise, and admiration. I was also nervous about spilling the candy, taking too long to open the door, or tripping on the rug.

The doorbell rang. I opened the door, I mustered my enthusiasm and and said,

"Trick or treat!"

The children looked at me. I looked at the children. After a moment's hesitation, the children dug in to the candy bowl. As the children started to file back down the stairs, my daughter looked at me.

"Mom, you don't have to say 'treat-or-treat,'" she said coldly, without waiting for my response before leaving.

Did she understand that the aphasia that made me say the wrong thing, I wondered? Or is she already feeling that all moms are clueless, anyways?

I closed the door. Under my breath, I said: "Happy Halloween! Happy Halloween! Happy Halloween! Happy Halloween!"

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Sports Fan

I've never been into teams sports, to put it mildly. So my husband has been flabbergasted that I watched at least part of each game of the World Series.

I watched partly because it's harder to have fun with my kids since the stroke--I can't ride a bike, or go skating, for instance--so cuddling with my kids in front of the TV suddenly seems like a great option. Also, I keep reading that learning something new is good for your brain, so learning the rules of baseball at the age of 49 must be great for my cognitive skills, right?  (It's also entertaining for my husband, who still can't believe the depths of my ignorance about the national pastime.)

But the biggest reason why I kept watching because I have been mesmerized by the twisting, turning movements of the players, especially the pitchers. The movements were beautiful. These days I get so focused on the mechanics of walking that I sometimes I forget about all the other movements a body can make, even a non-athlete body. Even I used to be able twist my body to vacuum in a corner, or turn suddenly to chase a child, I keep thinking.

I want to work more on my twisting and turning muscles. Inspiration lurks in funny places.