So, day 3 on the blog tour, and I’d like to thank Marianne K. Martin for hosting me and for letting me run with my Aikido metaphor: Marianne K. Martin’s Blog
On Monday evening, a boy threw me as part of a technique, and I could feel my body wanting to backward roll. I tucked as I hit the mat, and felt my hips come up. Roll! Roll! We took turns, the boy and I, and finally he whispered, “I’m going to backward roll on this one!” And then he did, and I don’t know which of us was most excited. When he threw me, suddenly, I rolled. I rolled right up. Just like that. It was all I could do not to cheer. And then from the sideline I heard, “You rolled, hooray!”
We’re excitable children. We’re careful not to injure one another while we’re pinning and throwing and countering. Last night, I read the Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, in a modified child’s pose with a poultice on my shoulder. Love is about breaking open. It is. All growth is about breaking open. We are supposed to fail. It’s our job. We’re supposed to get it wrong. And keep going. It’s the keep going that takes so much courage.
I read a children’s book, and cried. I managed a backward roll during the technique and I celebrated. I love you. You, out there, in the world. Keep going.
