per·i·pa·tet·ic
ˌperēpəˈtedik/
adjective
  1. 1.
    traveling from place to place, especially working or based in various places for relatively short periods.
    "the peripatetic nature of military life"
    synonyms:nomadic, itinerant, traveling, wandering, roving, roaming, migrant,migratory, unsettled
    "I could never get used to her peripatetic lifestyle"
  2. 2.
    Aristotelian.
noun
  1. 1.
    a person who travels from place to place.
  2. 2.
    an Aristotelian philosopher.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

A to Z Blogging Challenge: R is for Remember (Sign)


R is for Remember (Sign)

Rediscovering remarkable books and remembering the reason for buying them removes some of the pain of moving. I purchased this sign language book some years ago when Daughter and I took a beginners' course in sign language. It was one of those courses offered at a community college. Daughter had just begun her career as a licensed massage therapist, and one of her first clients was a young deaf-mute man. She had learned in school the importance of communicating with a client for determining his comfort level (enough pressure/not enough?) and likes or dislikes ("don't mess up my hair" or "oooh, my feet really need it today"). Intake forms are a good place to start understanding a client's history, but they're just not enough to realize all of his or her preferences, long or short-term. Maybe a client won't include minor details on the form and suddenly thinks of them during the massage session. At any rate, Daughter thought she needed to know sign language, and I wanted to learn right along with her.

I recall wanting to know just as much or more about the history of sign language and the reasons behind the signs as the signs themselves. For instance, what's the purpose of the thumbs in this particular sign for "remember"? As far as I've been able to determine, the thumb (pollex being the Latin word) stands for strength. We would be rendered powerless without our thumbs. The same thing could be said about memories. They help define who we are, where we came from, and why we choose certain paths in life. Remembering should be an integral part of any story. Is it part of yours?


Please visit A to Z Blogging Challenge for links to more "R's" from Challenge hosts and other writers.

8 comments:

  1. Remember. Sometimes good and sometimes bad. I'm glad I can pick and choose which memories to dwell on. Nice to meet you in the challenge! Getting closer to the end. But I'm determined to finish.

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  2. I think the study of sign language is nowadays becoming a separate discipline..Nonverbal Communication, is the name given to it and you will study different terminologies such as Kinesics and Proxemics within this stream of subject..Nice read Walk2write..

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  3. Coincidentally, I have just posted on the vagaries of memory.

    When I am on the masseuse table I close my eyes and grunt my pleasure or displeasure.

    I think it was an admirable thing to do to learn signing.

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  4. Your daughter is Really Remarkable for making the effort to learn sign language to help her client. I love that you learned along with her. My daughter and I can only sign our names.

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  5. How wonderful that your daughter took the initiative to learn sign language for a client. Also, it is great you learned with her.

    Memories, whether good or bad, are what shape us, make us individuals. The bad ones cause quirks, fears, bitterness... but happy memories are what pull us through the hard times, that shape our hearts, that make us the shine.

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  6. Your daughter had the understanding that separates the good therapist from the mediocre. You must be very proud.

    Remembering can be good or painful. Depends on the memory.

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  7. That's very interesting about the thumbs. Your daughter sounds like a very intuitive woman to want to learn sign language for her clients.

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  8. ooo... I don't know if that's right about the thumbs, but I love your reasoning. We would be useless without our memories. And remember that quote about forgetting history? Doomed to repeat it.

    Sign language reminds me of summer camp. There was always a sign language option. :D <3

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