This morning, I attempted my second bike ride since my skating accident which occurred 6 months ago. Following the accident (which resulted in a broken femur) I was surrounded by knowledgeable others who continued to share with me that my recovery was going to be long and strenuous. I, being stubborn, refused to listen and assumed that once the needed hardware was in place and the bone healed back to what it should look like, I’d be as good as new. What I had not anticipated was the fact that as my leg was recovering, the rest of my body needed to compensate for the less than fully functioning appendage. On a regular basis, that compensation caused pain for many of my regular physical activities, such a navigating stairs, lifting groceries, getting in and out of the car and walking for any length of time. Needless to say, other than stationary physio exercises, I’ve been less than physically active for the better part of 6 months. So today’s bike ride (which may have seemed like a recreational ride for many) was fraught with fear of falling from going too quickly and losing my balance and trepidation as I ventured towards the inclines. I even gave myself a pep talk and insisted that I would ride the whole way and not get off and walk up the hills. Along the route as I needed to adjust my speed or my tension, I was so thankful for the gears on my bike. They allowed me to maintain my desired state (on the bike) and work towards my goal (heading in a forward motion ~without falling off). The gears leveled the playing field for me. Other talented, stronger individuals may not have even used them or they may have used them at different intervals and for different lengths of time along the very same route. Needless to say, without those gears, my ride would have been unsuccessful.
As the ride continued my nerves calmed and my confidence increased and I started to think about tomorrow ~ the first day of the 2018/2019 school year. Tomorrow we will be welcoming a variety of students to Sir Arthur Currie. Some of them we know very well and they will be ready for the start of a new year with great confidence. Others we also know very well and we know that new beginnings tend to require a softer start and additional support. We need to adjust our gears for those Coyotes. And for those students who will be brand new to us, we have yet to figure out what works best to support them. For some it may mean using Google Translate to level the playing field of communication. For others it may mean allowing them to self-select a spot in their learning environment, so that they feel that their needs for “movement” are being respected. And for others it may mean extra time and reassurance that their educator is there to support them (through all of the inclines and declines).
Regardless of what supports are required, the one thing that I know for sure is that we will all adjust our gears as needed to ensure that all of us at SAC will maintain our desire state and work towards our common goal which is to have an amazing first day of school ~ followed by 194 more!
How do you adjust your gears to support others? Come write with me….