My Daily Supports

Daily Supports

            My emotional supports include my immediate family (husband and children), my co-workers and friends. My mother is only a phone call away when I need her. I also have a cousin and a few best friends that are also only a phone call or text message away.  I know that they are all there for me whenever I need it. It is a small but reliable circle.

          My practical supports include my calendar, my pay from work and from the VA, and my husband’s pay. If I do not put appointments etc. on my calendar, it often does not exist! I usually have so many things going on between work (I wear many hats), school, appointments, payments due, my daughter’s schoolwork and her activities that I have resorted to putting everything on my calendar. I don’t know what I would do without it. Pay is pretty self-explanatory. We all need it. Sometimes, we wish we had more and other times it is just enough. The struggle is real. I’m thankful for what we have and we make it work as a partnership. My husband is amazing and helps out around the house while I run around like a crazy person. He cooks and cleans while I work and do homework.  He also takes our youngest daughter to jiu-jitsu because I am still at work. Can’t wait for that to change next school year!

            I am not one who likes to ask for help, but when I do, I rely on my husband, my oldest daughter or my mother are my primary physical supports. The only other person near me that I would ever consider to ask for help is my co-teacher. We lovingly and jokingly call each other “work wife”. We are so much alike and we are often supporting each other equally. I feel like I am here to support others more than others are here to support me.

            The challenge I imagined was a major health issue either with myself or within my immediate family.  I know that my emotional supports: my family, my work family, and my friends near and far would all come to my aid if I needed it. I have seen all of them in action and come to the aid of others when needed. Whether it was to help cook dinner, run errands, raise money, or just emotional support, they all would be there for me and my family. They would become my emotional and physical supports. Like I mentioned in the beginning, it is a small circle but it is a strong reliable circle. It took years, love, and wisdom to build. I can’t imagine life without them nor do I want to. If this major health issue prevented me from working, I would lose part of my practical support (pay). I would still have some income coming in from the VA and from insurance.  I would still have my husband to help out financially and around the house. If it was my husband with the major health issue, we would have to rely on other means of income that we have set aside for this type of instance since he is the major contributor to the household.

            Thinking about this challenge has made me realize having daily supports is important. I do not know what I do without them. I also realized how much I need them. Without them, the impact would be great. I am hoping that when people read this that they also reflect on the importance of their daily supports and that they do not take it for granted. I know I surely won’t. 

My Connections to Play

My Connections to Play

“Play is the soil from which a child grows. Let her flower naturally, organically and in her own timing.” ~ Vince Gowmon

“If it’s not fun, you’re not doing it right.” ~ Bob Basso

“Play is the answer to the question, ‘How does anything new come about?’” ~ Jean Piaget

When I look back at my earlier days, I remember a much simpler time.  I remember making mud pies, playing in the rain, and making blanket forts in the house. Of the three, I think making the forts was the most memorable. Building the fort meant time with my mom and sometimes my older brother. My brother liked looking for new and better ways to make the fort larger. Makes sense now that he is an engineer. Both my mom and my brother would let me help in making the fort by showing me how to build it or by asking me what I had in mind. We used blankets, tables, chairs, TV trays, big books, and clothespins to make forts. When it was finished, I would spend hours in my fort. I would have my favorite blanket and pillow and many of my stuffed animals join me in my fort. Oh, and a flashlight, of course! Sometimes I would picnic in there and other times I would spend time drawing and coloring. I even remember my mom joining me for a picnic or reading to me in my fort. If I was really lucky, I was allowed to keep the fort up and sleep in it for the night. My dog liked joining me in my fort, especially if I slept in it. I loved making and hanging out in my forts.

     

I feel play today has changed somewhat. In my own experience with my children, I saw them still play in this manner when they were younger. My youngest is 11 now and she still wants to play like this sometimes. The difference now is all the technology that I did not have when I was growing up. If she were to build a fort now, she would want to take her Kindle in there with her or her MP3 player. She would take all her blankets, pillows, and stuffed animals in the fort with her. Even though my own children’s play was similar to my own, I do not feel like this is the case for most children. It seems like we keep our children busy with homework, technology, and organized sports. With all the activities we have them doing, it leaves little time for imaginative, creative play.

“We’re all a little weird, and life’s a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love.” ~ Dr. Seuss

“A little nonsense now and then is cherished by the wisest men.” ~ Roald Dahl

I chose these two quotes for adulthood. As adults, we need to remember what it was like to play and to laugh.  More importantly, I hope most of us have not forgotten how to play. A little play throughout our days is what keeps us young at heart. The other part is to remember to laugh. Being able to laugh even when things are not going quite right will get you through it. The quote from Dr. Suess is our family mantra. We love our weirdness and we tell our children to embrace their weirdness. It’s okay to be a little weird or to have our own quirks. These things are what make us who we are and it will help in keeping your grounded.

Play and laughter have been influential throughout my childhood and into adulthood. I believe the fact that I have not forgotten what it is like to be a child is what has helped me relate to my children and to my students. Showing children that it is okay to be silly and to use your imagination brings joy to me. I hope I am just as much to be around as they are to me. 

References

https://www.vincegowmon.com/playful-quotes-for-the-child-in-your-heart/