The end of this post should make you laugh

Since I've been blogging about my mini-me lately, I thought I would mention one more trait we both share in common.  We both have very active minds.  It seems that I am always processing information and formulating multiple ideas in my mind at the same time, and I find it very difficult to calm my mind.  This thinker mindset brings with it a host of problems.  When I started elementary school, I stuttered when attempting to communicate because my young mouth could not keep up with the thoughts in my head.   Thankfully, Mrs. Apple, my speech therapist, helped me overcome that issue.  When the mind is active, listening becomes quite difficult.  As a senior staff member at my previous place of employment liked to say, "You can't think and listen at the same time."   I have always had poor handwriting for the same reason I stuttered.  One simply cannot write neatly at rapid pace.

Running has been great therapy for my over active mind.  Except during times of structured training, my runs often communicated the nature of my thoughts.  When brain storming ideas in rapid succession or when releasing thoughts that frustrated me, my runs would be hard, swift sprints.  When musing over complex problems or formulating long-term plans, my runs would be leisurely and long.  Thankfully, my previous employers have been health and fitness advocates who allowed me to go running at lunch.  I remember several situations in which I came back from my mid-day run with a clear solution to whatever problem our work team was addressing.

However, when deep in thought during a run, I did not always pay much attention to where I was going and got lost on numerous occasions.  I have also failed to notice warning signs of pending injury.  My last decent "thinking" run occurred on October 9, 2010.  That run was both fast and long, and while I remember having powerful times of prayer and personal reflection during that run, I failed to use common sense and ended up with an injury that may never heal.

That running injury became painfully obvious during a training run a few days later, and I am still battling that injury today even after over a 100 visits to chiropractors, physical therapists, and orthopedic doctors. Writing has become my primary "thinking" outlet now, but I sure do miss running.  So, while being a "thinker" has its benefits, it also has its disadvantages.

When an out-of-state friend saw this photo of my daughter, she said that there is something about my little girl's lips and the way she holds her mouth that makes her seem like a thinker.

Indeed, she has a busy mind, and her imagination is especially active.  She doesn't stutter or run like I did, but she expresses her active mind through her high activity level and her extravagant imaginary play.  We've been told by several parents that she is a top choice for play dates when it comes to imaginary play.  She gets so consumed by the rapid thoughts within her imagination, however, that she fails to notice the trail of chaos she leaves behind.  Cleaning-up her room or the playroom (or any other part of the house) after she has been there for only a short while is an overwhelming undertaking for anyone, but it is pure misery for her.

Her writing also reflects her active mind.  When she is completing copy work or some other handwriting assignment for school, she writes beautifully.  When tested in spelling or grammar, she scores at grade levels much higher than her age would suggest.  When she is expressing her own ideas creatively, however, her handwriting, spelling, and grammar are all neglected as she races to get her thoughts onto paper fast enough.  I have tried to help her understand how important handwriting, spelling, and grammar are in order to properly express her ideas.  I once read aloud to her a paper she had written using the exact spelling and grammar she used instead of what she intended to illustrate this point, but she did not appreciate that approach at ALL.

Yesterday, after school, I could almost hear her gear shaft changing from neutral to fifth.  The walls began shaking and happy squeals echoed through the halls.  She and her brother like to play school, so when I came into the school room to check on them, she was pretending to tutor him in math.  When I returned later, I noticed that someone had written a list of assignments on the chalkboard for the pupil to complete.  Ironically, the list included a spelling assignment.   Either my mini-me wrote this list in haste, ignoring spelling rules again, or the kids have a pet donkey with bad breath which they have kept hidden from me.

While our daughter did correctly spell "assignments" for me later that evening, neither child understands why I fell to the floor in fits of laughter when I first saw the chalkboard.