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We decided she and her companion were on a first date.
“How are they doing?” asked my husband, who couldn’t glance
their way as sneakily as I could. (We, old-marrieds, often try to send good
vibes to people on awkward first dates in restaurants.)
“She looks super-uncomfortable,” I reported. She hunched
over, as if she were trying to fold up on herself, her back exposed, her legs pressed tightly together.
Unlike her date, who wore khakis, she was, my husband
pointed out, half-naked and probably cold. She also had a hard time walking in her shoes.
I have always been anti-dress. Yes, I’ll wear one if I
have to (to a wedding, for example), but I find dresses and skirts and their
accompanying shoes to be uncomfortable and impractical. I wonder about the
parochial schools that, to this day, insist that girls wear skirts as part of
their uniforms, claiming they are more “modest.” Meanwhile, the girls wear
bicycle shorts under those skirts so they don’t have to worry about exposing their
underpants.
I was surprised to learn that, according to this Wikipedia entry,
it wasn’t until 1972 that it became illegal for public schools to require girls
to wear dresses, well within my lifetime.
Sure, once, both genders wore dress-like garments, like
togas, but that was because they didn’t have the means to make more complicated
clothes. Some point out that dresses made it easier for a woman living in the
wilderness to relieve herself, but, I ask you, when was the last time you had
to pee outside?
My little-kid self was right: dresses suck.
Hi
ReplyDeletewish I could wear my dress at least once a month! :))) I think the online thing works great when you have your kind of attitude. I'm happy you got the look you wanted. I love weddings LOL
CHERYL- I found comfort in your NYT Motherlode comment re:YOUR sweet dude's inability to use a pen! Another commenter just alluded to HER, or HIS, son's graphomotor problems, too. This particular disability can be tough - people often have a hard time understanding what's going on. When my son started viola lesson, yes he plays a string instrument, well, WITH HIS FINGERS, don't ask me how, and his terrific teacher first saw him try to write something down in a notebook, she came to me after the lesson and earnestly asked me if he was an 'idiot savant'. !!!
ReplyDeleteLike you, we worked with OTs, PTs, learning specialists, to no avail. It's left a sour taste in my mouth about a lot of 'therapy'. My son's a super sweetheart, but many kinks still need to be worked out. From what I've observed, TIME is what helps the most. He's developing, but at a different rate. Some super strengths and some unusual weaknesses. Wish us luck and I'll wish the same for y'all! -CR
I'm glad. Yes, the therapies don't work as well as their practitioners would like to think. Then again, they were all super-sweet women and my son liked their attention, even if their work did nothing for his handwriting. :oP
DeleteI think, though, that therapists and specialized teaching did do something for my kids. (My daughter is dyslexic -- these two LDs, though they are in many ways opposites of each other -- tend to run in families together, isn't that interesting?) The thing is, the different experiences my kids were having with schoolwork were recognized, talked about, thought about -- and that helped preserve their confidence in themselves. Ironically, with the dyslexia, the teachers and schools and therapists were less confident of their ability to help, but my daughter actually did learn to read. I shudder to think what would have happened to her if she had "dud" teachers and I hadn't even pointed out that they were duds, like that other commenter was suggesting.
I think you are right about handwriting problems getting better with time. I've read about that and I notice that now, when my son takes down a phone message, I can actually read the number. :o)
I wrote an article about successful adults with learning differences a while back. One of the men has a hard time to this day with tying his shoes. You might be interested in having a look: http://bellairebuzz.com/2013/02/learning-differences-all-grown-up/.
Good luck!