Baby Steps

I've read about half of a new book called Don't Shoot the Dog. It is written by the founder of clicker training and a strong proponent of training by positive reinforcement. This book is not written specifically for dog training, and in fact the majority of the examples deal with humans and the ways in which we either consciously or sub-consciously reinforce behavior in our own lives.

The author proposes that we reinforce the good rather than the bad, ie. rather than cursing our own mistakes we praise our own accomplishments. So this got me thinking about parenthood and how in my own life I often feel unfulfilled as a stay at home mom. I think the problem for me and many other moms is that the pay off or the reinforcement just isn't there. Your little sweeties are never going to look you in the eye and say good job mom I'm giving you a raise. My job, unlike most others has nothing in place to make me feel like I've really accomplished something. So my goal over the next few weeks is to take some time to think about all of the things I have gotten done in a day, rather than all of the things I couldn't get done.

Kiah is also working on some baby steps of her own. She can reliably walk about three steps and occasionally initiates some wobbly walking on her own. It's a real delight to see the pride in her face when she walks all by herself. She's at the age where she's figured out that she can indeed communicate with us and I can just see her gears turning as she tries to make sense of it all. Her favorite thing right now is to hand stuff to people, and if you are ignoring her attempts to share she will actually grab your hand, flip it over, and shove said item into it.

Moira is finally starting to outgrow the constant tantrums, and is learning some coping techniques to help calm down when they do happen. She is also starting to enjoy hanging out with Kiah and often asks if her and Kiah can go play in her room. I'm am more amazed every day at Moira and how much she has grown as a person in the last year.

All in all life is good. I started on a new medication for my arthritis and it's working better than expected. The down side is that it lowers your immune capacity. Moira is currently sick so I will soon be experiencing how difficult it is to fight off a cold while on this treatment. My arthritis had progressed to the point that I was considering a cane or walker to help me in the first half of the day and within a week of the medication I can literally run down the stairs, something I could not have done for over a year. I actually just sat down and cried the first time I walked down the stairs like a normal person, one foot in front of the other. You don't take the time to appreciate what you have until it's gone so here's to spring and a new attitude on life!