timid past hesitation a thorn in heel What will they think? I’m weird? or maybe….not jump Like so many others, I spent much of my life under a leaf. Playing small is what I learned. Time for new tricks…. Turning monsters into friends. What will they think?
I’m sure you know the trust-building exercise. A standing, blind-folded person is instructed to slowly lean/fall backwards, into the arms of the team waiting to catch her. Your post today suggests you passed that with flying colors and are now ready to jump!
Hmmm. My paternal grandfather I never knew; he died before I was born. I just had photos from my parents’ wedding, with this dour, grumpy-faced old man (old! Elbert then would have been my age now) staring at the camera like he couldn’t wait to sit down. Then decades later my father showed off old movies to my (then) new bride, taken by Elbert, and Deb remarked how much fun Elbert looked, telling (silent) jokes and trying to get people to move because this was a MOVIE camera, folks, show some life! My father talked about how the man in the wedding photos was his post-stroke dad, who was in pain and had trouble moving; pre-stroke Dad was the “fun one in the family” (my mother’s phrase, borrowed from new in-laws who told her “oh, you should have known Elbert back when...”) and was always clowning around and going for the laughs. So I wouldn’t mind taking my paternal grandfather (pre-stroke) out to lunch and sharing lives over a burger.
I’m sure you know the trust-building exercise. A standing, blind-folded person is instructed to slowly lean/fall backwards, into the arms of the team waiting to catch her. Your post today suggests you passed that with flying colors and are now ready to jump!
Yay you! I look forward to hearing about the conversation.
Hmmm. My paternal grandfather I never knew; he died before I was born. I just had photos from my parents’ wedding, with this dour, grumpy-faced old man (old! Elbert then would have been my age now) staring at the camera like he couldn’t wait to sit down. Then decades later my father showed off old movies to my (then) new bride, taken by Elbert, and Deb remarked how much fun Elbert looked, telling (silent) jokes and trying to get people to move because this was a MOVIE camera, folks, show some life! My father talked about how the man in the wedding photos was his post-stroke dad, who was in pain and had trouble moving; pre-stroke Dad was the “fun one in the family” (my mother’s phrase, borrowed from new in-laws who told her “oh, you should have known Elbert back when...”) and was always clowning around and going for the laughs. So I wouldn’t mind taking my paternal grandfather (pre-stroke) out to lunch and sharing lives over a burger.
I look forward to details and reflections on the conversation with this grandfather Gail. Lovely post, again.