March 2016

 From the Dragons’ Den

One of our Little Dragons is just about ready to walk, having crawled, scuttled and rolled at great speed through the West End Room and up and down the central aisle for several weeks.  Now, if one happens to make the mistake of holding hands out to the little one, he will grab the hands, lurch to his feet and commence in a forwards direction at great speed and with great determination.  This can prove to be a huge error as it is with great difficulty that one can manage to unfasten oneself from the determined grip of the tiny hands.  This activity, naturally, causes great pleasure to the little person, but causes some hardship to the person providing the support system, the back being tilted to a tricky angle and the eyes scanning the way ahead, whilst one’s feet may appear to be less steady than they used to be.

Speaking of which, when exactly is it in life when the realisation occurs that the agility that was once a natural part of life’s rich pattern, has diminished and that feet and legs seem to have misplaced the excellent balance and sense of daring that were apparent but not even thought about in times past? When was it that, if a trip or slip occurred, somehow the sense of ‘Oops, I’m falling. Never mind, simply curl into a ball, do a gymnastic-type roll, and leap to the feet all in a continuous and fluid movement’ carried one safely ahead?

In the memory this was definitely what used to occur.  Now it seems that any lack of balance, when the floor seems to have tipped and tilted and the body has wilted, ends up with one lurching forwards at the same rate and pace as the adventurous Little Dragon spoken of earlier.  However, the biggest difference is that if he takes a tumble, there are strong hands to help him to his feet; whereas if we go down, we go down with a certain lack of grace and we may need several pairs of strong hands to raise us and the damage done may be considerable both to the limbs and the confidence.

If you are a glass half full person, as I am, rather than a glass half empty person, there is still the sense of gladness that the ability to move about continues even at a reduced level. As long as the mind still functions and one can communicate with families, friends or neighbours in any way, then life will be as good as we allow it to be. It’s always good to look on the bright side!  Truly!

Val Butterworth