Level Expectations

My son has lots of bruises on his legs.  But for the most part, it's not from falling down from not looking where he's going.  It's from crashing into something he's running towards at full speed; or it's from trying to climb up on the table and banging himself because he's not tall enough to quite make it.  It might be that his shoes skidded on the floor and he fell forward.  But it's not from not watching what's in front of him.

While the falls he makes can be spectacular, what impresses me more are the falls he doesn't make.  Back when he was walking fairly well, but not well enough that anyone was comfortable with him toddling down the driveway and into the street.  He looked like he was about to fall over onto his face at any moment, but for the most part he made it without incident.

I would internally cringe as he approached the edge of the driveway from the road.  There's a little inch step up from one paved surface to the next.  His feet and his step were so small, I fully expected him to trip on the little edge.  But he'd clear it every time.  There is a similar edge in the garage as you come in from the driveway, but he'd make that one too.  In the attic, there are wood beams that stick up a few inches you have to step over.  Adults need to be warned, my son just steps over them.

So what's the difference?  I think as adults, we expect surfaces on which we walk to be flat and free of obstructions.  He's just a baby and doesn't have any notions of what should be where and that there shouldn't be balls and toys in the middle of the walkway.

I'm prone to stumbling on something if it's in the middle of an area I've marked in my mind as a "walkway" or if there is a surface that should be flat like a driveway, that has a mini step in it.

I don't see him look down, but he's surveying the area around him as he moves through it.  I don't look down because I'm assuming the area will be as I expect it to be.  I fall down less than he does because he's a baby, but I get tripped up in situations he wouldn't because he's not conditioned to expect certain things from his environment.

The Big Boy Update:  Hopen?  We were in the craft room yesterday and my son was trying to open various bins and containers.  He spent some time with a bin of small toiletry containers like mini-shampoo bottles, toothbrush holders, lotion containers and cream pots.  He needed help unscrewing the tops because while he understands the concept of screwing something open, he doesn't get that you have to reposition your hand and continue unscrewing in the same direction to get the lid off.  After playing with those for a while, he cleaned them up and then went over to a large bin.  He wanted me to help him open it.  I told him maybe later (as the contents weren't child-friendly)  He started saying, "Hopen?  Hopen?"  Was he saying, "help" or "open" or "I hope you'll help me open this?"

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  Where are those teeth?  She still has only two teeth.  The first two came in at around six months, but so far, no other teeth and she's over ten months.  My son had a lot by now.  I don't feel the upper two about to erupt, so I'm not sure.  It doesn't seem to matter to her as she'll gum anything you give her to eat, but I'm wondering when she's going to get a more toothy grin.

Fitness Update:  Two days of not running.  Feels strange.  Feels lazy.   Maybe tomorrow.  Uncle Bob is visiting and he's done lots and lots of running.

Someone Once Said:  I don’t flatter myself that I have a monopoly on common sense, nor on originality.