My mom was an avid enthusiast when it came to this. I remember memories of trying to climb over everything with my overactive, energetic six-year-old mind and she just sat there while I tumbled off the couch, continuing to read off everything. Usually, people yell at me when I do this now-a-days (probably had something to do with my cute, adorable six year old face that everyone just let thing's slide like jumping off of high heights. Or the fact that a near sixteen year old is still tumbling on and off couches--I think either is a justified argument) saying "sit down, Elizabeth!", "you're not paying attention, are you?", "What--DON'T PUT THAT IN YOUR MOUTH--!" And things like that. Nah, she knew how I'd learn. She had it all figured out just by being my mom and a freaking good teacher at that.
We never really had it diagnosed, but I have a easy form of dyslexia. As in, it can affect the way I read and write, but it's not terrible that I just can't read PERIOD. But dyslexia, it has other problems than just reading. I can only comprehend instructions if they're told to me a certain way. Which can really be annoying when I'm at my choir and my conductor is like "Hey, can you make sure this is done by this time?" I listen, and I reply, "Oh yeah sure, completely within my power to do so, ma'am!"
You know, I have no idea what she said to this day. I had to ask someone else. And even then, it was garbled. Turned out everyone forgot what it was themselves so, I got lucky that time.
It's just sometimes, my head just goes blank. Like there's a wall that shoots up out of the ground and is like, "Haha--no. Not today". But, my mom didn't care, she was able to show me how to do everything simply and easily. She never got frustrated--well, that's a lie, she did. Got my ear pulled--but she had it all under control. I'm wondering, did she know she was presenting me; a messed up, vegetable brained idiot--the exact perfect way to get everything down? Was it planned, or did she just make it up as she went?
I find myself thinking, while remembering my homeschooling childhood, a want to go to college to teach special needs kids. Not just autistic, but kids who struggle in school from learning disabilities that also effect social interaction like ADHD, dyslexia, aspergers--thing's like that. (I hope you know I had to look up how to spell that word with some difficulty.) The Genius Symptoms I like to call them, because you really only have these "disabilities" because your mind is meant to do big thing's, you just don't know discipline yet. I think it was spurred on from her, from my mom being able to do all this crap without even trying. I remember, she even had me in charge of helping out kids who were testing, teaching them thing's they needed to know. I learned a lot from it, because I was talking and showing someone else. Trying to figure out a wording that they'd understand and in the process, I figured it out for myself as well.
This in mind, I start to think of my boyfriend, Ian--he's getting behind in school because he has the Genius Symptoms. Nothing's diagnosed but he has trouble focusing on thing's he doesn't like. He'll push it off--unless it's thing's like science and learning how to build complicated machines that goes straight over my head--then he focuses TOO much. I know my mom dealt with me in my own unique way of learning, and I realized, he's more adept to learning the way I do, than the traditional way. I offered to tutor him this summer--in fact, I'm REALLY excited for it. And, it's only now when I'm thinking through what I should do to help him out, I feel my mom behind me saying "wow Beanie! That's great!" every time I write something down in the planner.
I felt like I was losing her a bit, I mean yeah no duh she died, but I can't remember much. And it's not until now with the schooling stuff, I feel closer. I remember thing's. I guess, I might be setting my heart too much on this, but I think this is a good idea.
