Thursday, February 27, 2025

Thursday, February 27, 2025

 

     I had an appointment with Shelly, my therapist/life coach.  I told her about my discomfort with the therapist my PCP recommended, Rob.  While we got off to a good start, there were cracks.  First, he's too interested in engaging in intellectual discussions. While I love doing that,  I don't want to spend my time discussing my work and all the theories I have so lovingly developed.

   A second concern came up. Rob is a 'follower' of McGilchrist, who advocates the dominance of the right brain. This concerns me for several reasons. I view the brain in terms of function. Does the brain serve the needs of a person? One hemisphere may be more in use than the other. While the two halves may engage in a back-and-forth tug of war, it should result in a solution both halves are comfortable with. That should be the goal, like the outcomes of a good marriage.

    In a good marriage, partners take turns being the dominant one.  There may be areas of expertise or deep concern where one partner cares more about an issue than the other; therefore, that partner's needs hold sway.

    I find it ironic that McGilchrist combats the left brain's penchant for theoretical thinking with a theory.  Since it is a theory, it seduces people to become believers.

   I went to Ulu Wini today. I knew it would be a short day. I was expecting to work with sixth-graders I hadn't seen before. Shauntel warned me she was a special ed student. That didn't alarm me. Most of the kids I work with might be classified as special ed.  She didn't arrive when the rest of the children did. Shauntel told me she used the special ed. bus driven by J.J. It's the same bus Luke uses.  Luke suffers from a genetic mutation, FoxG1. His mental and physical development is that of an infant.  Children with severe physical or behavioral problems are transported in that special bus. That changed my perspective.  She has serious issues. I have no idea what they might be.

  I worked with two second-grade children on comprehension. Both need explicit instruction. So much is missing. I read a story with KJ about a cat that moved into a house with mice. The mice were concerned. One of the mice proposed putting a bell around the cat's neck. Great idea! Question, who will do the deed?  KJ didn't know that cats ate mice. Without that bit of information, she was lost. As I explained things to her and showed her how language worked, I could see the wheels turning. That's what rings my chimes. That look, as the light goes on.

  She was also missing another vital piece of information. She didn't know that mice might be food for a cat or that animals and humans could be a source of meat.

   I had some chores in mind after I left the Ulu Wini community center.  First, I went to the Kaiser pharmacy to drop off medication and syringes that had been sitting in my refrigerator for about a year. I considered taking this medication to help with my osteoporosis.  I bought the first 28-day supply for a mere $450 out-of-pocket payment.  I realized there was no way I was going to inject myself with a potent chemical daily.  My friend, Melissa, a doctor who volunteers her services as an OB/GYN, told me I had to take it to the pharmacy for proper disposal. The pharmacist told me they don't provide that service. But she agreed to take mine. Great.

   I had meant to drop off screwdriver bits at the Restore Store, within walking distance from the Ulu Wini community center. I forgot when I was through with the tutoring.  I went back there and dropped them off. I was so glad it did. Completing small chores can be so fulfilling.

   I had one more stop, Costco, to pick up salads and blueberries.

    I ran into Darby with her brother, wife, and son on my evening walk.  They were here for a brief visit. They came from Seattle, so her brother could attend a circus juggling workshop.  There is a communal circus community on the east side of the island. The trip here was delayed a few days.

   Darby's brother and his wife were walking to the plane to come to Hawaii when her phone rang. Her father had just died. She was Jewish, and the funeral would be within 24 hours. They turned around and caught a plane to the closest airport to her father's Long Island, New York home.  They did one day of shiva before they set off to Hawaii to catch what they could of the workshop.

   I knew nothing about a circus community in Hawaii, no less the Big Island, no less in Pahoa. It's the Hiccup Circus Community. From the photos, they provide classes mainly for children. It's more than that.  Darby's brother and son have been involved in circus activities for a long time. Darby's twenty-four-year-old nephew didn't leave for Long Island with his father and wife, Mile's stepmother. I met all three. They are just lovely people; I liked them all immediately.