Thursday, October 13, 2022

Thursday, October 13, 2022

It was driveway yoga this morning at 7 a.m. I saw a difference in my asanas because of my stretching exercises before I got up. First, I pulled my thigh toward my chest, but just to the point where it still felt comfortable. It was uncomfortable if I went too far, and my body fought back. Terry, one of my PTs, taught me to hold a posture for ninety seconds to get a release. I held it longer, waiting to feel my body relax. Then I do small shifts in the flesh under my hand, MicroMoves. They must be small to trick the primary stretch response (PSR). If I pull too far, the PSR wants to pull my body back to the default position, the one I was currently maintaining, the one I wanted to change. After I did that on both sides,  I pulled a bent knee across the other leg, which was straight. This stretched the glutes, particularly the piriformis. There are recommended positions for that stretch. None of them worked for me because my glutes were too tight. I had to find the correct position for me.    

   I placed the foot of the bent leg on the outside of the straight leg at the knee. I pulled the knee over with the opposite hand without moving my hips. It wasn't a spinal stretch; it was a glute stretch. Once my body relaxed in that position, I made small shifts, moving the flesh under my hand very slowly. I did a savasana between each posture, letting my body absorb the changes.

  At 12:30, I had a luncheon appointment with Zola, who invited Mindy, whom I had just run into on Tuesday, to join us. I left early to go to the post office to mail an educational report back to a client. I arrived at the restaurant on time. There was no Zola or Mindy when I got there. When I checked my text, I saw that she said 12:30.  

   I had my Kindle with me and wanted to read. I asked if I could sit far from the hostess's desk because they had music blaring. I found a table in the middle of the restaurant that was quiet enough to read. I opened the Kindle and continued reading the play, A Raisin in the Sun,  assigned to my ninth-grade student. Good thing I did. I stopped reading it after I saw the movie. They left out an important scene. Mrs. Johnson, the neighbor with whom the family shares a bathroom, came over to wish them 'well' with their move to the white neighborhood. She spoke about a black family whose house had been bombed when they did that. She told them she was expecting to hear their names in the news. Hansberry says two groups of people are holding the blacks back: the cracker whites and people like Mrs. Johnson.

 I was still sitting waiting for Zola at twelve-thirty. I got up and went to the front of the restaurant. There she was sitting. Mindy had something else to do. I ordered what I had in the past: aioli-covered avocado fries, ahi, and a lemonade. Nothing tasted as good as it did last time. Some said the problem was with the restaurant. They were inconsistent. Judy said the problem may be with the aging tastebuds. Something else to lose with age.

   Zola and I caught up. I enjoy her company. She is a spontaneous person. I loved to hear about her relationship with her husband. It reminded me of my love for Mike. It felt great to hear someone express my thoughts about their husband. I called Zola to let her know how much it meant to me.

  I had Mama K's crew today because I wasn't comfortable doing a session with everyone driving in the car yesterday. I continued the WbyW strategies for comprehension with fourth-grade K. The level of improvement in his comprehension is stunning. I used materials at a low fourth-grade level. I made plans to jump to a higher level. I anticipate working with him on a fifth-grade level by the end of the year.

  Third-grade Twin E came on next. I was still working with Starfall, training the girls so they could work on their own. I control the button on the app. She told me what to do. I allowed her to pick what she wanted to work on. She chose something at a higher level. When she saw the words, she instructed me to press the ear, which would read the passage to her. I was surprised. Would this work if she didn't even try to read it herself? But then she did try to read it. In the middle of the session, a phone call came through. Twin E ended the session. I knew her mom was no longer home. She had to be at work at four. I heard her say, "Goodbye." I called their older sister. She answered the phone but was in the car with her mom. That was the end of that session.