Reason behind this site

Cast of characters

Glossary of terms

 

Did you hear that? I think something
just clicked

May 30, 2011

I’ve never claimed to be the perfect dad. I’ve discussed how I’m not a patient person and how I’ve unknowingly overlooked learning opportunities to try to accomplish a an everyday task as easily as possible. However, I did seize an opportunity this week and Nathan came through better than I could have ever expected.

After an hour at PT, where Nathan did alright, but not as good as what it could be, we headed home. I did remember I was supposed to pick up some Market Day items from church, and made the turn before making it all the way home.

Nathan enjoys a break from the everyday routine, so heading to a familiar place on an unfamiliar day and time, seemed like a good idea. I wasn’t sure which part of the building the pick-up was going to take place so I headed in the main entrance just like on Sunday mornings.

For someone too tired to work at PT, he seemed more eager to step down the sidewalk, and as usual was happy to walk through the main doors. We stopped at the Welcome Desk and talked to the receptionist, and got ready to head for the destination. We got there at a good time as with classes going on, there wasn’t anyone in the hallways or the narthex.

Instead of following behind and steering, I decided to head toward the hallway and see if he would follow. We were in a pretty wide-open space and this was a chance to see if he could correct himself in steering and ultimately go more places on his own. Still willing to walk, he lugged his walker toward me. I stepped around the sitting area and toward the hallway we’d gone down dozens of times before.

When he’d start to lose his way, I would give him directions, not knowing if he understood or not, but an amazing thing happened. I’d call out, “use your righty,” turn my back to him pumping my right foot and then glance over my shoulder. He did it. The first time wasn’t very strong, but he started on the right course. “Strong righty. Push with righty.” Again he followed, only this time pushing harder, making a sharper turn.

I was stunned and he was excited. Still, the path wasn’t straight, but it was functional. We traveled over 100 feet, around furniture, through a set of double doors and well down the hallway, until reaching for the hangers on the coat rack were more fun than following Dad. (After all, in his mind, this could have just been a trick to get him to work.)

I helped navigate through the  door of the room (for a traditional-sized door, the walker only has around 6” of clearance.) We sat, watched the people unload the boxes, for they had only arrived a few minutes before we did. As they completed their inventory, I went up to get our order. Nathan started walking in the room with a wall on one side and a table and chairs on the other. He found another door back to the hallway, and decided to try to sneak through. I was watching him, but since he was in front, he giggled at being in control.
With the same small clearance, he headed into the doorway at around a 45-degree angle. When the front of the walker hit, he stood up, leaned back and turned some more. Still hitting the frame (but making progress) he did again, and this time cleared the frame and headed back to the hallway.

Thankfully our order was small, and at this time complete. I grabbed the bag and headed back out the hall with him. This time I would stay behind him to see what he would do. I still called out clues for lefties and righties, but he managed the hallway back to the narthex.

Both coming and going, he saw the door to the nursery and thought it would be a good idea to go there (he knows there’s toys inside.) But a simple verbal cue that the door is closed and so is the nursery, and a little disappointed, headed back on the path at hand.

Being the leader, he had his own agenda on where he wanted to go, wanting to head to the gym, or the classroom where he has Sunday school, but back to the car we went, a very successful day in steering the hallway.

The next day we tried the same thing at school. We got there earlier than the busses so there were few distractions there too. We got through the main doors and to the long hallway leading to the elevators. I stood in front, coaching him down the hallway (again probably around 100 feet.) His path wasn’t true, but he made it through the whole way without hitting either wall. Only when we reached the area of the elevators, where kids were coming in on the left, but the elevators were on the right, did he stop steering my way, to try to get to the other kids.

It was an exciting moment. With the end of school approaching quickly, it was clear he had made strides from the first day. We look forward to more victories, and have faith what the summer will bring. And above all else, I may have learned something too. Sometimes, life isn’t about how much you can do in a day or how fast you accomplish it. Enjoying the journey allows us each to grow, and experience, and celebrate bigger victories in the end.

Back to previous postings