Just Another Walk In The Park

We’ve had a couple rough days here in our house as we begin to accept the reality that Luke has dyslexia.  Luke has been dealing with his differences for a while, working very diligently to disguise his struggles and fit in despite them, but we haven’t had to face them until now. I spent my morning reading a great deal online. I looked into support groups, testing options, literature, schools, and summer camps. It was mentally exhausting. Around 11:30, my brain had absorbed all it could sponge up. I was spent.

The sky was clear and sunny. Despite the November date on the calendar, the temperatures outside hovered in the mid 60s. I didn’t see how I could, in good conscience, get myself into a yoga studio on a gorgeous day like this. So, I leashed up the dog and headed into the open space park behind our house to do my usual four-mile hike. As Ruby pulled me toward our standard clockwise route on this loop hike, I stopped. She stopped. I just needed to pause, to be in the moment. I had to stop thinking and simply be.

Sometimes, things don’t go the way we would like. I had just gotten to a place of comfort with Joe’s situation when this new obstacle presented itself. So much is going to have to alter in our lives going forward. We will probably have to change Luke’s diet. We may need to change his school. We’ll shift our expectations and our strategy as parents. It’s time to look at things in our lives with fresh eyes. With that in mind, Ruby and I took our walk today against our usual grain. We proceeded in a counter clockwise direction with an eye to something different. The changes this family is facing don’t necessarily make our lives more difficult. They merely make them different. Today I walked the same path I’ve been walking but I did it a little differently. I looked at it with a new lens. The only thing that changed was my perspective. As soon as I started walking north instead of south, it stopped feeling unfamiliar. It simply felt like walking and the particulars weren’t important. I realize now that is how we’re going to get through this new challenge. Step by step we will move forward until it no longer seems new and challenging, until it’s just another walk in the park.