Pages

Thursday, February 25, 2010

OT

Miss M isn't going to take it anymore! She just told me she's tired of people bragging about watching the Olympics. Meanwhile, she's really excited about starting occupational therapy today.

At age 8 she's going to work on her muscle tone and sensory integration and handwriting, etc, etc, etc. One more little wrinkle in her life of little wrinkles - she's like toes after a long, hot bath. (Or is that image more shriveled than wrinkled? She's not shriveled.)

I don't call it occupational therapy when I talk to her about it. I say we're going to "that play place." Maybe I'm wrong to not be more direct with her, but I want her to think of OT as something cool and fun - not weird and not work. I want her to feel special, but not, you know, special. Perhaps she'll brag to others about what a great time she has.

I imagine tomorrow at school, some little girl with stars in her eyes will talk about the women's long program in figure skating and how beautiful and sparkly and graceful the skaters are. May will look at her and say, "oh, you watched your fancy TV show, did you? Well, I went to this place with padded floors and swings and they brushed me and rolled me around on the floor and it was WAY BETTER than what you did, so quityer braggin you little slut."

3 comments:

Sharon Thomas said...

M IS going to play at that place, so you're cool. It's not like you're giving the kid wine and calling it "Jesus juice" or something, honey. Besides, do you know how many years I spent trying to explain to adults what OT is? Avoid that conversation while you can--it's a snoozer. (P.S. I'm secretly hoping M calls someone a slut at school tomorrow now.)

Olivejenny said...

I chose not to watch the Olympics last night, too. I've been "different" my whole life. I used to feel like I needed to be like everyone else and be "normal." Now, there's nothing more distasteful to me than trying to be like everyone else. I've realized that being "different" is just the way I am. The more I do my own thing, the better I feel about myself. Which sounds like exactly the point of M's play place. There are a lot of things in life we can't control. We are what we are. Really, as hard as that is sometimes, that's the best thing about life, not the worst.

Good parents realize that part of being "the adult" is helping their children learn to celebrate their own uniqueness, regardless of what everyone else is doing or saying. There's nothing more empty or pointless than simply doing what everyone else is doing, and nothing more fulfilling than being your own strongest self. You're doing a great job!

FWIW, I hope you'll give yourself a big pat on your mommy back for celebrating everything that makes M special, and helping her to learn to enthusiastically embrace her ability enjoy her own life, because it's beautiful beyond compare. Well done, Not Stacy. :D

The Mike said...

I haven't watched the Olympics at all since they didn't show any but the last 35 seconds of the USA vs. Canada men's hockey game. I tried to watch women's curling yesterday, between classes, but I couldn't get an Internet feed. The circumstances of my missing Olympic experience are negative. It sounds like Miss M, however, has other things in mind besides watching other people twizzle and lutz, and steer and brake, and ski and shoot, skateskateskateskateskate really fast around an oval.

Good for her. Good for you. Good for those around the both of you.

Thank you.