When we first moved in Steve appreciated the craftsmanship exhibited in the staircase. I admired the beauty of the light falling through the stained glass window on to the steps. And I figured we had our very own in-home cardio set up just going up and down the stairs to answer the doorbell, gather mail, etc. In the intervening years the stairs have proven quite the challenge. Now that Steve is back home recovering from a stroke we have to learn to navigate the stairs in a very different way. Our learnings are the same and different. The same learnings are about the body, muscles, tendons, nerves, what has to be strengthened, how long it can take the brain to rewire itself, etc. The different learnings are around trust. As his “assist” down and up the stairs, he has to overcome his anxiety that he might hurt me. I have to learn to trust myself that I know what the hell I’m doing as I give him physical and verbal queues for how to move. Going down I am reminded of a waltz in part. His hand on my shoulder, my hand on his waist and the other prepared to help him sweep that left over close to the wall as we descend in unison. Or mostly in unison … we’re still working on it together. And that is the beauty in this challenge, we are here on this earth and able to work together.
