Many Little Kindnesses

It`s the little things that make the biggest difference. A simple little thing like the appearance of a cup of tea, mid mucking-out, tranformed the day from alright to on the up. It wasn`t asked for which enhanced the delight and unexpectedness of it. Further, it was exactly as I like it! Little kindnesses and considerations like that elevate the ordinariness of a day into something beyond the mundane. The rainbow, I thought, had sealed it. Not quite - that was the tea!

Yesterday at work was quite tricky and for a number of reasons very upsetting too. The sense of responsibility and protectiveness I felt for our `girls` and our unit was sufficient to spur me into action and to enable me to stand my ground. All well and good but what touched me beyond all else was the exceptional kindness and utter consideration of a colleague who could quite simply have gone home to bed after a shift on her own ward but who instead offered her services and solidarity to one of our girls who needed it most. A bad situation was made good through kindness. Bless that girl!

Talking of bad situations, I have got to get to grips with my determination and be focused in what I want to achieve with Dudley. With Sarah aboard, he is responsive, light, willing and forward. With me on board, he`s not! Granted, Sarah is top class (and half my size) and I`m not even middling while Duds is in a class of his own. Point is, he gives what Sarah asks and then some. After the initial waking up it`s as though a switch is flicked and he offers his best, even making corrections as he goes along. He`s poetry in motion to observe, smooth and collected, on the bit and oh, so very pretty! Then I get on . . .

Sarah`s natural approach is one of positive reinforcement towards both Dudley and me. To Dudley I only ever hear her say `good boo-ooy` in her quiet sing-songy voice and he responds with willingness. I`m not like that and much as I hate to admit it, I tend towards the negative. We talked about me having shorter but more positive sessions in the school when I am on my own with Duds, even if that means only ten minutes of good, positive, forward work. In yet another glorious, impromptu lesson, Sarah spurred and encouraged me on in a way that put me in mind of the midwives I have observed when they`re attending a mother in the second stage of labour. I have marvelled for some time at the incredible piece of theatre that transforms even the quietest, most timorous midwife into a forceful, encouraging and totally believable character who convinces the woman that she can indeed deliver this child. Sarah, in a piece of theatre of her own, convinces me that despite my lack of schooling and refinement, I can achieve a good deal more than I believe I am capable of. Dudley is such a talented, capable and genuine boy who, although he grumps and swishes his tail, means no harm and has no malice. He is willing, after discussion, to help me to learn what he already knows. Bless that boy!