Learning to Move

As a lifelong mover, and especially since the training I did in developmental movement in grad school, I have always looked forward to watching my own child(ren) explore and discover the world of movement. Adah has really started to blossom over the past few weeks, and recently we entered the wonderful world of rolling - she's had front to back mastered for a while now, but just the other day she figured out back to front and now has the whole log roll down pat. In addition, she's become more and more capable with her little hands - grasping onto and manipulating toys, my hair, you name it. Her problem now is that she wants to put everything in her mouth, and can get it there, but then can't figure out how to both keep it in her mouth and continue fiddling with it. So frustrating! It is truly amazing to watch.

And as I watch Adah learn how to move, I'm already confronted with this arena of parenting I'll just call "tough love" for lack of a better explanation. There are moments when I know exactly what Adah is trying to do, and I know she CAN do it if she just sticks with it for a bit. But, oh, when she looks at me with those big blue eyes and they well up with tears of frustration, it takes every ounce of my willpower to not help her along (or to make it even harder for her, as seen in the below video). I am positive that this is one of the easiest challenges I will face as far as wanting to solve all her problems, go to any extent to help her etc. etc. So I'm not sure what to say about that...bring on the wine?

I've found that life is often filled with the sweetest of parallels, if you take a moment to stop and reflect on what is happening once in a while. And I'm delighted that this season of watching Adah learn how to move is matched with a season of teaching introductory modern dance at the university. Although most everything about my daughter and my students is different - their ages, most notably, not to mention the physical and mental capabilities that come along with that difference, it is equally sweet to watch my students discover their bodies in an entirely new way through the modality of dance. Many times I'm sure that I'm making them totally uncomfortable, but in my efforts to create analogies and explain how something might feel in their bodies, I know that at some point they will look back and appreciate the chance to move, relate, explore and be within themselves in an entirely new fashion. And when they really get it - that tricky combination or the rush of that swing or the height of that jump - oh the elation on their faces! It very much matches the smile Adah gives as she pushes herself up from a smooth, successful roll.

The wind is getting brisk and the leaves are changing rapidly and the night is bringing on it's darkness all too early each evening, but as fall closes in, it is so refreshing to watch these new worlds awakening. Oh, movement, how I love you!

(See below for proof of Miss Adah's skill!)