My favorite writing teacher used to call the last sentence “the dismount.” You have a talent for it. In a couple of pieces I’ve read now, you’ve really stuck the landing.
It was such a happy surprise. My therapist gives me grief in every other session about needing to get better at coping with surprise. Maybe what that really means is to stop paying attention to only the bad/hard surprises. 🤔
You blessed them with optimism, a belief that they can have a better job or life than they originally imagined. Our emotions can spread to others, and that includes the positive ones, not just the negative ones. Beautiful story. Thanks for sharing it.
Yes, tears running down my cheeks here (I am a watering pot 😋). I know you are no longer a believer. I know some will say I have a lively imagination or that I am delusional but..... I see in this the hand of the divine. This brought joy to all of you but you, I believe, especially needed this moment after the disappointing week you had. Thank you so very much for sharing as it certainly made my day the better for it.
Well I didn't know I needed this story this week but I do now, thank you for sharing this with us Holly.
Your comments about Church were also very close to home, my mother occasionally brings up going to church not even in a religious context fairly frequently when I speak to her and the thought of just the community has been tempting i wont lie, but personal belief in God is hard for me and my own, fairly amateurish, study of history has me worry of either returning to a Catholic church or of seeking out any of the larger protestant churches here in my state.
You reminded me of a passage from one of C.S. Lewis' sermons during WWII, The Weight of Glory.
It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree helping each other to one or the other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all of our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics.
If all Christians would emulate your interaction with that boy, the world would be a better place.
This was such a beautiful story of humans connecting in the best way. Thank you so much for sharing it with us.
Your explanation of ASL is absolutely spot on! I have a passable ability to communicate with it (“slow please” is my most often used phrase 🤣) and I could not have described it better. Such a fun and beautiful language!
"I was worried I wasn't doing it justice." Of course not a one of us can ever shake our self-conscious biases and yet it gives me great pleasure to tell you how unfounded and mistaken this anxiety was :)
"I can tell it how I want, with... unlimited digressions"
I have a soft spot for unabashed, selfish honesty and you shot multiple quivers of arrows right through it with this line, each successive arrow splitting the one before it. Looking back the digressions barely registered. Your style and structure is good that way.
"I took this as my opening, signing as I spoke." Omg I feel this so much. I recognize this thought pattern and I have no doubt that you said exactly this to yourself in real time (rather than someone adding flourishes in the re-telling). It's likely you were scheming how to introduce yourself as soon as you saw the conversation with the son. Perhaps you were even panicking, since your car was ready and you had little time. Those moments were spent scheming, screwing up the courage to say something, or both. Or, you knew instantly. You ARE a smart cookie, after all. When I write about past thoughts the time it takes to type them is infinitely longer than the time I spent processing them in the moment. I run through them instantaneously and can still identify them clearly and deliberately. Even the flowery, self-indulgent thoughts.
But enough of my projection. This was an incredibly sweet read. You're a gem and a half.
The analytical mind never stops. NEVER. I had a similar moment last year where I bullied/shamed myself into speaking up, instead of being a wimp like I used to be. I moved away from the NW 1.5 yrs ago, scoffing at when I'd ever be back. A few months later my one good friend there sent me a wedding invitation. There are very few I would make a trip for solely for that--this is not something that men do lol--and she is one of them. At dinner, before the dancing, they let people say a few words, etc. I've had countless "I should say something" moments of inspiration that I let pass by so I recognized it immediately. I had an intense back and forth with myself in the span of two seconds and fortunately I was able to logic myself into it. It's kinda sad that I'm proud of doing something so obviously correct lol.
Do you ever stop and think how odd it is to remember not just events and details but what you were thinking in real time? Like, who does that?? When recalling the past I can see and hear my thoughts the same as any sensory input.
I can't do this all the time, but yes, I have many moments in my life in which my thoughts are part of the memory, too, which is a very weird/strange thing.
Hm, I don't know if it's so strange now. It's a logical extension of self-awareness. I am naturally curious and perceptive, and the most self-aware person I know. Aware minds notice everything. Everything is data.
Wonderful story told with emotion. You have many gifts.
In my homecare agency, I help a 50 year old man with Cerbral Palsy. He is also partially deaf and went to a high school for the Deaf. He signs with one hand (the other hand doesn't work). I don't sign, and am unable to interpret his verbal language, and can make out only a few words. They are mostly grunts to my ear.
When I take him to the doctor, they have an ipad on wheels that they move into the exam room and connect to an interpreter with a HIPPA compliant video call. Often the interpreter needs to add a colleague to the video call because they struggle to understand him. However they do connect with him, he lights up because someone understands him. This enables him to get a reasonable level of care.
Hearing people like myself should learn a few signs to be able to communicate at a fundamental level. Do you have any advice?
Oh, absolutely! Start with the alphabet. It's slow, but you can communicate anything that way. I have taught so many people the alphabet that I couldn't begin to guess at the number, and many of them later told me about running into a deaf person in real life and being able to (slowly, but clearly) communicate with them making for a positive experience for everyone.
Learn the alphabet first and some basic signs. Besides facial expressions that go with whatever you want to say (as described in the essay), when asking a question with a yes or no answer, raise your eyebrows. That's the equivalent of the way a hearing person's voice goes up at the end of a question. In general, I recommend lifeprint as a place to start, but if you're a caregiver you may want to supplement that with some questions related to his care, perhaps the words for pain, hungry, thirsty, etc. There's a medical ASL series on YouTube. ASL grammar is not nearly as difficult as it may seem. For example, the sign for hungry and then pointing at him with eyebrows raised is a perfectly grammatical, "Are you hungry right now?" You may also enjoy seeing (and possibly watching *with* him) some ASL versions of popular songs. Try to find ones by native signers if you can; a lot of the ones by hearing people aren't great because they're homework for a beginning ASL class. Russell Harvard is probably my favorite.
You have encouraged them to dream and dream big. They will now go on to imaginne possibilities for themselves inn new ways. Thank you for sharing this joyful moment of connection
I have happy tears welling up.
My favorite writing teacher used to call the last sentence “the dismount.” You have a talent for it. In a couple of pieces I’ve read now, you’ve really stuck the landing.
I have goosebumps and a bit misty eyed. Such a treasure of a story. 💕
It was such a happy surprise. My therapist gives me grief in every other session about needing to get better at coping with surprise. Maybe what that really means is to stop paying attention to only the bad/hard surprises. 🤔
You blessed them with optimism, a belief that they can have a better job or life than they originally imagined. Our emotions can spread to others, and that includes the positive ones, not just the negative ones. Beautiful story. Thanks for sharing it.
Yes, tears running down my cheeks here (I am a watering pot 😋). I know you are no longer a believer. I know some will say I have a lively imagination or that I am delusional but..... I see in this the hand of the divine. This brought joy to all of you but you, I believe, especially needed this moment after the disappointing week you had. Thank you so very much for sharing as it certainly made my day the better for it.
Well I didn't know I needed this story this week but I do now, thank you for sharing this with us Holly.
Your comments about Church were also very close to home, my mother occasionally brings up going to church not even in a religious context fairly frequently when I speak to her and the thought of just the community has been tempting i wont lie, but personal belief in God is hard for me and my own, fairly amateurish, study of history has me worry of either returning to a Catholic church or of seeking out any of the larger protestant churches here in my state.
We aren't lost and we have a Law of our own. Neither Jesus nor Paul were talking to us and said so themselves. ;-)
This is a delight.
I've tears streaming and a big grin. This sheep is definitley not lost!
That was kind of a wonderful story. Thank you for sharing it with us :)
You reminded me of a passage from one of C.S. Lewis' sermons during WWII, The Weight of Glory.
It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree helping each other to one or the other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all of our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics.
If all Christians would emulate your interaction with that boy, the world would be a better place.
This was such a beautiful story of humans connecting in the best way. Thank you so much for sharing it with us.
Your explanation of ASL is absolutely spot on! I have a passable ability to communicate with it (“slow please” is my most often used phrase 🤣) and I could not have described it better. Such a fun and beautiful language!
Thanks for saying this; I worried I wasn’t doing it justice. Very hard to describe a purely visual and experiential language in words. 😅
"I was worried I wasn't doing it justice." Of course not a one of us can ever shake our self-conscious biases and yet it gives me great pleasure to tell you how unfounded and mistaken this anxiety was :)
Lovely. Thanks Holly
I enjoyed this story. Thanks for writing.
"I can tell it how I want, with... unlimited digressions"
I have a soft spot for unabashed, selfish honesty and you shot multiple quivers of arrows right through it with this line, each successive arrow splitting the one before it. Looking back the digressions barely registered. Your style and structure is good that way.
"I took this as my opening, signing as I spoke." Omg I feel this so much. I recognize this thought pattern and I have no doubt that you said exactly this to yourself in real time (rather than someone adding flourishes in the re-telling). It's likely you were scheming how to introduce yourself as soon as you saw the conversation with the son. Perhaps you were even panicking, since your car was ready and you had little time. Those moments were spent scheming, screwing up the courage to say something, or both. Or, you knew instantly. You ARE a smart cookie, after all. When I write about past thoughts the time it takes to type them is infinitely longer than the time I spent processing them in the moment. I run through them instantaneously and can still identify them clearly and deliberately. Even the flowery, self-indulgent thoughts.
But enough of my projection. This was an incredibly sweet read. You're a gem and a half.
ha ha I feel seen. Yes, I literally thought that in the moment. "Hot damn, this is my opening!" LOL
The analytical mind never stops. NEVER. I had a similar moment last year where I bullied/shamed myself into speaking up, instead of being a wimp like I used to be. I moved away from the NW 1.5 yrs ago, scoffing at when I'd ever be back. A few months later my one good friend there sent me a wedding invitation. There are very few I would make a trip for solely for that--this is not something that men do lol--and she is one of them. At dinner, before the dancing, they let people say a few words, etc. I've had countless "I should say something" moments of inspiration that I let pass by so I recognized it immediately. I had an intense back and forth with myself in the span of two seconds and fortunately I was able to logic myself into it. It's kinda sad that I'm proud of doing something so obviously correct lol.
Do you ever stop and think how odd it is to remember not just events and details but what you were thinking in real time? Like, who does that?? When recalling the past I can see and hear my thoughts the same as any sensory input.
I can't do this all the time, but yes, I have many moments in my life in which my thoughts are part of the memory, too, which is a very weird/strange thing.
Hm, I don't know if it's so strange now. It's a logical extension of self-awareness. I am naturally curious and perceptive, and the most self-aware person I know. Aware minds notice everything. Everything is data.
Wonderful story told with emotion. You have many gifts.
In my homecare agency, I help a 50 year old man with Cerbral Palsy. He is also partially deaf and went to a high school for the Deaf. He signs with one hand (the other hand doesn't work). I don't sign, and am unable to interpret his verbal language, and can make out only a few words. They are mostly grunts to my ear.
When I take him to the doctor, they have an ipad on wheels that they move into the exam room and connect to an interpreter with a HIPPA compliant video call. Often the interpreter needs to add a colleague to the video call because they struggle to understand him. However they do connect with him, he lights up because someone understands him. This enables him to get a reasonable level of care.
Hearing people like myself should learn a few signs to be able to communicate at a fundamental level. Do you have any advice?
Oh, absolutely! Start with the alphabet. It's slow, but you can communicate anything that way. I have taught so many people the alphabet that I couldn't begin to guess at the number, and many of them later told me about running into a deaf person in real life and being able to (slowly, but clearly) communicate with them making for a positive experience for everyone.
Learn the alphabet first and some basic signs. Besides facial expressions that go with whatever you want to say (as described in the essay), when asking a question with a yes or no answer, raise your eyebrows. That's the equivalent of the way a hearing person's voice goes up at the end of a question. In general, I recommend lifeprint as a place to start, but if you're a caregiver you may want to supplement that with some questions related to his care, perhaps the words for pain, hungry, thirsty, etc. There's a medical ASL series on YouTube. ASL grammar is not nearly as difficult as it may seem. For example, the sign for hungry and then pointing at him with eyebrows raised is a perfectly grammatical, "Are you hungry right now?" You may also enjoy seeing (and possibly watching *with* him) some ASL versions of popular songs. Try to find ones by native signers if you can; a lot of the ones by hearing people aren't great because they're homework for a beginning ASL class. Russell Harvard is probably my favorite.
Lifeprint:
https://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/pages-layout/concepts.htm
Medical ASL:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5b70ey1N2w
Russell Harvard:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XEhGr7x93c&t=2s
You have encouraged them to dream and dream big. They will now go on to imaginne possibilities for themselves inn new ways. Thank you for sharing this joyful moment of connection