Beads

During O’s early years of therapy, one of the things her awesome OT Cristin tried to get her to do was to thread a shoestring through beads. These beads were big, easy enough to hold (even for small hands with low muscle tone.)

Olivia hated beading. She hated with a passion and every time Cristin would bring out the beads, Olivia would sigh at her and roll her eyes.

Cristin loved O’s attitude. She loved that Olivia wasn’t afraid to show her displeasure. She swore that this was going to take O far in life.

A couple of weeks ago we were at the library where I was gathering our weekly stack of books and Olivia was at the puzzle table. She loves the puzzles.

As I walked between the shelves, I glanced over at her and found her beading. She was slowly, meticulously threading a red shoestring through round, oblong and square beads.

I went to her table and said, “Livie, I love what you’re doing.”

She grinned up at me and said, “I’m making a necklace.”

I told her, “Cristin would be so proud of you.”

She rolled her eyes at me and went back to her task.

And Cristin would be proud. And she’d explain that it’s easier for six-year-old hands to thread the beads than it was for two-year-old hands.

Obviously O’s hands are much stronger now than they were when she was younger. She’s got better dexterity and more patience. Her hand-eye coordination has improved.

But you know what? If she’d never been put through the rigors of therapy all those years prior, I’m not sure she’d be able to bead today.

Those early years are so, so important to build the basic skills needed to do so much. It gives our kids the skills, the strength and the patience to get things done.

I wish I’d taken a picture with my phone of O beading that day. I could have posted it on Facebook and mentioned her therapist in the post. Cristin really would be so proud.