Roles

As avid readers of my blog may have noted, I rarely talk about school on my blog. Why, you may ask? I School already consumes so much of my time and energy that when I have free time it is the last thing I want to think or write about. Except for today I suppose.

My program requires all of us students to write a research article. an article that is supposed to be published in a scholarly journal. an article to validate the practices of occupational therapy so that as a profession we can grow and thrive. Yada, yada, yada. For my article I am analyzing occupational therapy sessions done in an acute (right, right after) stroke rehabilitation unit. The therapist is working with a woman who loves to cook. She is Latina so she it is a big part of her culture to cook with her kids and grandkids in their home. She is also a lunch lady so she cooked for the kids at the school she worked at. It was interesting to observe how the therapist used her role as a cook in therapy to help her with other physical needs. I loved that the therapist was able to use this important thing to her to help her get better! It was a beautiful process to observe how the therapist got to know this women really well and do things in therapy that were meaningful to her. I can't wait to help people for my career by getting to know them and using those activities that are so important to them to help them heal in their recovery process.

All of this research has got me thinking about an individual's roles and how they shape their life. Mother, daughter, sister, aunt, student, employee. Etc.

Some of my favorite roles include:

Third wheel on a date to a sushi shop with my roommate and her French boyfriend,
Chaser of a floating paper lantern that threatened to light neighboring trees on fire,
Congregation visitor of a baptist church where the only language spoken was Ethiopian,
Consumer of German bread and pastries,
Catcher for my kickball team on the elementary blacktop,
Owner of a collection of old newspaper clippings and stamps,
Rider in a convertible with the top down in February,
Wearer of a best friend charm bracelet with cool charms,
Stealer of candy out of my dad's personal stash in his office (I later confessed this, but had difficulty forsaking the sin),
and
Learner of how to skip a rock on Jackson Lake.

A really big new role is coming my way. The role of a wife. I am so excited to embrace this role and spend my time caring for and loving someone else. I can't wait to learn more about communication, and love, and forgiveness, and understanding. And lots more.

I may not be ready. In fact, I know I am not. But I am willing, come what may, to embrace the role of a wife.