All In A Day's Work

ALL IN A DAY’S WORK

On August 3rd 2012 I started a blog not knowing where it would go. It was called The Simple Things. I gave it that title because it seems like completing essential (or non-essential) activities that are not really that big of a deal to many (most if I dare say) people have become like clearing a skyscraper to me since my traumatic brain injury (TBI).  

For instance, most people have a routine of what they like to do in the morning and it’s pretty much the same way every day-- wake up, shower, get dressed, eat breakfast, brush your teeth, ect., ect.. Everyone's order is unique and there are reasons that the order may change but overall, in some form or fashion we all get the basic things done every morning. Once you have a routine, completing the tasks are not that big of a deal and it becomes almost second nature to do them- when you forget to do something, you realize it. Even though you might not know what you are forgetting to do, most of the time you know something is missing. That’s true even for me, with a brain injury, and I think for my friends with varying types of disabilities as well. It might take longer to complete tasks after an injury or as we age and routines change. Certain activities may have ranked so low on the importance list or have become more trouble to do than they are worth and eventually such activities are nixed.

 

You might be wondering where in the world I'm going with this; sometimes I wonder that too...hahaha.  Actually when I was taking a shower this morning this very thing happened; I was going through my normal routine: I washed my hair and was washing my body when I realized that I could put the shampoo in my hair, wash my body with the soap, rinse both of those out and once I put the conditioner in my hair to sit for a while, I could use a more perfumed, more “exciting,” or more softening body wash. The second body wash would be basically like a conditioner for your body! Now there is reasoning behind my order of operations performed in the shower! Phew! Like other things, having a reason behind the order of my shower activities makes the whole process less stressful and easier to remember. Well at least for me, having a reason will alleviate the stress of trying to remember the order I need to complete my shower activities.

 

Not every injury is the same, and from personal data collection after observing different disabilities, it seems that individuals with  neurological disability are similar to a savant, a person who has detailed-focused processing.  WOO-HOO! After “researching” (using non-peer reviewed articles) perhaps people with neurological deficits can be savants. Good ole Marriam-Webster explains a savant as someone with an intellectual disability that excels in a limited area.