Followers

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Getting off on the right foot

I've heard that there's a learning disability in which you have difficulty remembering numbers, and you confuse your left and right. If that's so, I must confess, I definitely have it. I can remember the whole joke, but I'll never know for sure if it was 5000 or 50,000 or 500,000 in the punchline. I can't remember phone numbers from places I lived for years. And although I can remember how to spell nearly every word I've ever seen, I can't remember a number much longer than it takes to look away.

And then there's right and left. If I say my gut reaction as to which way to turn ("Go right here, Honey!") I'm nearly always wrong. For me, right is left and left is right, and if I want to know which one is which I have to wiggle the finger of the hand I write with (right). Seriously. This is not the least bit helpful when I'm trying to navigate for my husband on unfamiliar country roads. I have to resort to "this way" and "that way."

Sooo...not wanting to pass on this unfortunate trait to my children, I've been working with them on left and right already. They seem to be doing well so far. Tonight I told Skyler, "Put your left foot up." He did so successfully, probably faster than I could have done in his shoes (pardon the pun). :D "Very good!" I congratulated him.

"And dat one," he added, pointing to his right foot, "is my wong foot."

2 comments:

LaVonne said...

Last Sabbath, as Tyler was driving, I was yelling "Turn Left, Turn Left". He yelled back, "There is no left." Oh yes, I do it all the time too! (I meant right.)

Unknown said...

I have the same problem. Left and right, and also east and west. (But never north/south, or up/down.) That's why when giving directions, I always try to use hand motions ... "You then turn, uh, THIS way...." (accompanied by sweeping motion with the hand).