work work work

Lara and I did a little shopping after physical therapy this morning. Which mainly meant she fussed at me while I looked at curtains (yes, I finally have kitchen curtains), so I hurried it up and took her to Petco to look at the fish. I have thought often about getting a fish for Lara. BUT, they die too fast, and if they don't, our cats would eat them. The main reason, though, is that fish are gross. But Lara does get a lot of enjoyment out of them.

I love living in small towns, and it's always better when noone knows you, I say. I was glad to be out of the rush of small city living this morning, to return to the relaxing, strolling ways of tiny towns. Lara and I have a new method of walking. We stand in the center of a hula-hoop, with Lara in front of me. Lara holds on to the front, while I steady the back. It's a great exercise, because the hoop is not very stable, so Lara needs to focus more on her balance. Afterward, we do some squatting exercises, which are easy because Lara has this thing with looking at all the rocks in our yard (the people who lived here before us went rock crazy and bordered everything in rock). If I hold Lara's heels on the ground, she can stand very well without holding anything. She is supposed to squat down, pick up a rock, then stand back up. This is super hard, but she did it a few times today, so we are making great progress. What's more helpful than anything is that Lara understands any command now, so I can tell her what to do, and she will try to do it. Before, I had to magically grow 6 more arms to hold her steady and guide her into position while keeping her legs properly positioned while entertaining her with a toy. I've mentioned several times that Lara will put her left hand into a fist periodically. I had to work on that, but now I can usually just say, "open your hand," and she'll do it. Eventually, Lara will do all these exercises on her own, and I won't know what to do with myself. But that will be the day when I thank the heavens children don't stay young forever, I assure you.