Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Every Little Bit

He turns his head from side to side as he wakes himself out of slumber. He scratches the fabric on his crib mattress, testing the texture with his fingers. His cheeks are rosy from the warmth of his skin. He moves his feet, flexing his legs, as he adjusts from his belly position, readying to lay on his side. He begins to hum and make bubble sounds as he absorbs his surroundings, looking up for a familiar face.

He finds one. He smiles as I talk to him gently, as I ask him if he's had a good shnootz.

He goes back to stretching his legs and begins to work his way onto his back for a better view.
I watch his every move as I take in his attempts to learn this new body movement, rolling, which could give him even more options if he knew how to get back to where he started.

Sometimes in the process, I hear him grunt with his efforts as he works different gross and fine muscle groups to determine what will work best to get him in the preferred position. Sometimes the move he makes is satisfying. Sometimes it's frustrating with the inability to change back and forth, a skill he has yet to master.

I tell him he's such a big boy, able to roll into those positions for a better view. He'll learn how to get back to where he started in time. And the time moves so very quickly.

Before he knows it, he'll be crawling at high speed and then walking from one room to another.

Learning a new skill takes patience, endurance, and even a little faith in yourself, believing and expecting your skills to increase and grow as you make the effort to learn whatever is necessary to get where you want to go.

We can't expect to learn new skills overnight. Practice, observation, and even learning from someone else who has been there can go a long way toward helping us achieve our goal.

It can also be helpful to take a breather from our efforts, knowing we've put our time in, getting better and stronger with each attempt.

Every little bit helps; every step we put forth gets us further along the path we travel.

He's not in any hurry as he tries these new steps toward new skills and, eventually, independence. But he doesn't give up either. He keeps at it until something changes: he masters the movement. Then he smiles wide as if to say, "I'm proud of myself!"

And he knows I'll be there cheering him on.
And sometimes, that's really all that matters.

© 2012 by Dawn Herring


4 comments:

Nikki Barnabee said...

Sweet, lovely. It instantly created the image in my head of the little bugger working those little legs (and those no-doubt-adorable teeny toes attached to them)and getting his day off to an ambitious start :-}

Dawn Herring said...

Nikki,
Always good to see you! And yes, he does have those adorable teeny tiny toes. I'm always ticking them. He loves that. :)

Glad you enjoyed it.

Be refreshed,
Dawn

Online Counselling said...

Very touching blog post. Seems like your son has a great father.

Dawn Herring said...

Online Counseling,
Thanks for taking the time to read "Every Little Bit." I'm glad you enjoyed it. :)

Just thought I'd clarify myself as a grandmother. ;)

Be refreshed,
Dawn Herring

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Three Steps Toward Accountability...to Yourself (as published in SFC Newsletter, Dec 08 edition)

Accountability: to give a reckoning or explanation for one’s actions, responsible.

When most people think of accountability, they often negatively associate it with answering to others, such as a spouse, a friend, a mentor, or, in most cases, a boss. As a writer, you are your own boss, which is one of the reasons that you need to be accountable to yourself. And it can be a positive experience rather than a negative one.

The first step in being accountable to yourself as a writer is setting goals for your writing and keeping track of projects you want to finish. Incurring a deadline for yourself can help
motivate you in this area. This step can also include daily writing goals. Some authors plan how many words or pages per day they will write.
I’ve set goals for myself as a writer by making them reachable and attainable. This year I have set a goal to write at least one scene for my novel per week and at least one other piece,
whether it be memoir or essay, per week. That can mean just making notes, writing a first draft, or revising a draft.
As long as your goals keep you moving forward and you’re making progress, then you know you’re headed in the right direction.

Once you have your goals set, the next step in accountability to yourself is writing down what you accomplish each day. You can use a daily calendar just for writing or keep track of your
daily accomplishments on your computer. I designed a custom monthly writing calendar. It helps me track what I write daily, whether or not I’ve met my goal for the week, and it has
space for ideas for future writing pieces. I also have a spot to keep track of books I’m reading for that month. I use abbreviations to keep the daily writing easier and to save space. As I review each completed month, I can go back to see what I’ve accomplished and keep track of when I wrote each piece.
Whether you use something pre-made or customize something for yourself, use whatever works for you and helps you stay accountable to yourself.

A third, and perhaps most important, aspect in accountability in your writing is taking care of yourself as a writer. Than can mean giving yourself space and not being hard on yourself if
you don’t reach your goals each day or each week.
Flexibility and refreshment are paramount to your health as a writer. It also frees up your creativity and can actually help you produce more quality writing in the long run.
I enjoy writing in my journal, reading fiction or memoir, and watching a good movie with my family. Taking a walk, listening to music, talking with your family members, and just taking time to sit and enjoy life are all ways you can be good to
yourself—and ultimately accountable—as a writer.

Learn to celebrate your accomplishments and your uniqueness as a writer. That’s one of the best ways to be accountable—to yourself!