In Trouble Again

I am in trouble.

For as long as I have known my beautiful bride, I have teased her about talking with her hands.  I would go as far as grabbing her hands and tell to talk, and she would not be able to do so.  She would just look at me gaping like a fish out of water.  We would eventually laugh and break the spell and I would release her hands and she would finish what she was saying before I so rudely interrupted.

Some of you remember when we were in college together, there was a class through the Speech and Drama dept. called American Sign Language  circa 1977-80.  I and several others got that class going.  I took it for as many times as I could but never really got very good at it, except for a few signs and phrases.

From a very early age my girls knew how to sign 'I love you' with one hand.  They still do that.  We still do that.  Now the grand kids all know how to do that.  I hope the great-grands will know when they come around, say in twenty years or so.  No really, 20 years kids!  NO sooner!

Now flash forward some 35 years.  I contract Bulbar onset ALS.  My voice starts to go.  Not only is it a struggle to say words they often do not come out as anything intelligible.  More of a grunt and sounding like I am yelling when I am actually not.  I just have to use a tremendous amount of force to get the words out.

Many of you have seen a pic of my "Arkansas Hillbilly iPad", which I use effectively when talking to the general public or sales people.  It is getting a little cumbersome to use around the house.  So I get this bright idea, let's learn ASL!  I bought two books on signing; one about 200 pages with a lot of basic signing in it from Hastings, and another that would rival Webster's Unabridged Dictionary in size and volume.  Let's put it this way, it should be registered as a deadly weapon!  Smack someone upside the head with it and they ain't getting their eyes uncrossed for a while.

I went through the smaller of the two books last night and highlighted words that will be most helpful to both of us.  I need to knock the rust off of my signing and my Angel, I am sure just to please me, will be practicing and using it around the house.  Even as I write this she is going through the book, seeing the illustrations, doing the signs and learning their meaning(s).  I love you my Angel and thank you for trying.

Yep I am in trouble, but I will take this trouble any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

Until next time.........................