Sunday, April 3, 2011

On the other hand....

No, this is not a trail running injury, but a surgical procedure I had planned on.

However, what I didn't plan on ... is the difficulty i have using my left hand on everything while being right-handed. It is all backwards. I called my hot oatmeal breakfast this morning ... porridge.

WHO DOES THAT!?!?

I instantly blamed it on my left-handedness and how it is rewiring my brain.

When I was little, I used to practice writing left-handed. And sometimes when one of the kids in my class happened to glance my way while we were sitting at our desks, I would exchange my pencil with my left hand and continue writing, hoping they would think I was a lefty.

It paid off.

I have written a few checks with my left hand during these last few days and had to sign my name on hospital forms and I'm quite pleased with the results!

But. I haven't mastered washing my hair yet.

I miss running. I can not run until four days before my half-marathon race and I try not to worry about that. I do, though. The race is April 17th.

It keeps surfacing to my thoughts. How well will I run? Can I keep the pace? It's a mental game. One that I don't want to play because it's a game where I always lose.

Now you know what I live with every day - being a Lefty. You probably started to notice how EVERYTHING is designed for right-handed folks: knife blades, can openers, cameras, watches, doors opening, to name just a few! It's a wonder we lefties are in our right minds :-)

Hi Kate! Nice to see you here! I ABSOLUTELY noticed how we live in a right-handed world. (The CAMERA was a HUGE OBSERVATION!!!!) WOW! I guess the positive side is that your left hand is the strong, dominant hand to be able to over-ride some of those hardships ... versus ... using my weak left uncoordinated hand to do the same. But yeahhh... happy you are still in your right mind. (or left?)

Hi Bethany... actually.. it's all still numb and throbbing. Feels like I'm carrying around dead weight since I can't feel it, but yes.. it's healing and hopefully soon, it will feel normal again. Imagine.. novacaine.. and you are smiling but your mouth is so numb, it feels strange!!! :O) Thanks for your kind good wishes!

Sorry I hadn't seen this before Shawn!...yeah good goin' on the lefty thing! it's quite an education on how we can take right-handedness for granted, but also kinda fun to experience learning new motor skills! :o) I'm glad the pinky is healing okay!