Being an OT in a social world

I've been thinking about writing this post since Sunday evening, after visiting with our friends at their house-warming. So, here goes.

 Basically, I really struggle to switch off my OT-brain and just be a normal citizen, interacting with others in a non-OT way.  Why?  Because one of an OT's main attributes is that of being super observant.  Nothing goes unnoticed.  I look at everyone's gait (their walking pattern / style), I check out their pencil grip (and proceed to comment on it), and I always wonder about visual perception (my life at a school kind of means that visual perception receives a LOT of my attention).  When there is someone in a wheelchair, I check out the specs.  I LOVE going to disabled sport meetings, because I get to see the newest technology in prosthetics and wheelchairs.  And when I look at kids?  Well, I check whether what they are doing is on par with what would be expected of them at their chronological age's developmental milestones.

Now, here's the question - will I look at my OWN kids that way?  I certainly do look at my brothers, sisters, PARENTS, husband (shame...he falls victim to this quite often) and nephews and nieces in this way.  Friends, friends' friends and their children are also not excluded.  So, will I monitor my own child that way?  Will I make sure he / she reaches their developmental milestones at exactly the right age?  Will I try to stimulate them to the point that they achieve all their milestones?  I don't know...but it might bug me for some time to come.

The reason for this random thought?  I met a little boy (2 1/2 years old) on Sunday who was born a whole 12 weeks early.  My first thoughts were immediately on how these children usually present - they have quite a great chance of having a hemorrhage due to fragile vasculature in their brains, which can lead to Cerebral Palsy.  They can be deaf, blind and developmentally delayed their whole life through.  And yet, this child was walking, talking, could see and hear.  I kept on telling his mother what a miracle child he is (as if she doesn't already know that), and the fact that he could do all these things was awesome.  But, of course I looked at him as a whole - I observed a lot, and yes, he still seems to have some delays if you compare him to other 2 1/2 years old.  Yet, I should be comparing him to himself - and that was pretty awesome!
Thus the question I'm throwing out there today is this: How does the type of work you do / your occupation, influence how you interact with people?

Anyways, that's my rambling for today - I'm now off to finish supper (Aubergine Masala and yellow rice!).  May you have a blessed week!

Catching up...

Can you BELIEVE that we're already in the 3rd month of this year?!?!?!?! CRAZY!

So far this year has presented itself with loads of ups and downs...

• Kids that don't listen to you when you SPEAK to them, annoys me to no end (not referring to my nieces and nephews). Kids who choose to pick fights, and then also prefers to avoid the fact that they are the common denominator in all fights, really is like stepping on my sciatic nerve and grinding it with your boot's tip.
• The Government in general seems to be useless, especially the GSSC - they're quick to jump on the bandwagon and force you to pay back money that they wrongfully paid to you and you actually informed them about it. But when they've taken your money illegally, it's PERFECTLY FINE for them to take longer than 6 months to sign a sweet piece of paper to give your (rather big amount of) money back.
• Missing my parents a lot, have not seen them in more than 3 weeks - which is a lot for me!
• Missing my baby brother to no end - last year this time we made plans to visit for the weekend. We visited, and JUST after the weekend we found out I was pregnant...
• Missing being pregnant, and not having a baby to show after being excited... and frustrated at the process of falling pregnant again (having to sort out a huge cyst on my right ovary and getting the MMR innoculation, now having to wait before we can try again).
• Being stuck at my work / home for most of the week without a car - ugh.... just REALLY wanna get out!

The pick-me-uppers in my life:

• My husband wakes up EVERY MORNING at 04h55 and starts to run a bath, then makes me breakfast and Pink Nesquik Milk before leaving for work.
• Seeing my husband smile from EAR-TO-EAR about his new job, and experiencing him coming home with a little skip in his step, instead of dragging his feet because it never ends..
• Hearing Thinus' key turn in the front door at night :-D
• Chatting to my family, my parents, my brothers, my sisters, my nephews and nieces.
• Making plans to visit friends, being frugal and hopefully saving some money in the process.
• Visiting with my family and friends on Tuesday, Thursdays and sometimes Sundays.
• Going to church.
• Practising Lancet with our interschool-team, and getting rid of pent up energy, frustration and showing all-round appreciation for kids who try their best, never mind the TONNES of odds stacked up against them!
• Practising for the revue / musical production at our school - these kids are amazing, REALLY! They try so hard, and succeed in things I, for one, can definitely not do (I suck at coordination).
• Baking, baking, baking and some more baking...
• Reading any available quilt-blog on the internet, downloading patterns for clothes, bags, quilts etc.
• Planning our trip to Bloemfontein as well as the other trip to the Western Cape for a wedding at the end of this month.
• Talking to my parents on the phone at 06h30 in the morning to discuss things like a person's sagittal plane and how exactly that cuts you up i.e. anatomy.
• Being grateful for amazing people around me.

Okay, that's me. I've caught up. Hope the rest of your week's a good one!