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The Gift of Music · 6 February 2010
I know that Christmas has long passed, but one of the gifts our oldest son, Thing 1, gave me has just kept giving. Sure, it was just a video game, but it has meant much more than just fun for me.
The present was a huge package that did not get to the house until after we had returned home from Christmas with the Miyoshi family. When I opened the large package with our family gathered around, I was speechless.
It might seem odd, but being able to write does not always translate into being able to speak. I was shocked and could barely get out, “Thank you,” when I opened Guitar Hero – World Tour. It was the whole package – drums, guitar, microphone, and of course, game. Two games in fact, World Tour and Guitar Hero 5. Now if one of the younger two had given me the gift, I would have known their mother “helped” with more than just the selection. But since Thing 1 gave it, I knew he had selected and purchased it by himself. I was flabbergasted and just sat there looking at it all for quite some time.
When the shock finally wore off, we put together the guitar and drums. Unfortunately, the drums had a flaw, but we all played the game with a singer and two guitarists. I fixed the drums after a trip to Radio Shack and we have all enjoyed playing individually and together.
Part of the reason that I was speechless after opening my gift from Thing 1 was because I knew its cost. I had thought of getting the same thing for everybody each of the past two years. But when I thought about it and even asked the kids, I realized that I would have just been getting it for myself. Which is the other reason I was shocked receiving my gift – it was perfect.
Thing 1 is a great gift giver. He is both generous and thoughtful. He seems to know exactly what will excite whoever he is giving a gift to. On Christmas day, he moved to be near whichever of his brothers was opening his gift. He wanted to see their excitement and joy as they opened their gifts from him. He also wanted to see their faces as they opened multiple layers to get to the gifts inside, but that is another story. Thing 1 really does have a gift for giving, and that fact really struck me when I opened my gift from him.
The present I got this Christmas was much more than a video game. It was even more than the realization that my son has a talent for giving gifts. One of the best parts of my gift from Thing 1 has been a renewed love of music. I have had an acoustic guitar since I graduated high school almost thirty years ago. I do not play as often as I used to do when I played for church youth groups and such, but since Christmas, I have pulled out my amp and electric guitar several times. Usually, to play (or at least try to play) a song from Guitar Hero. It has been great to get a little playing time in after dinner or on weekends. The sessions on the video game have inspired me to play my real guitar more. An added bonus to my Christmas gift.
I have had lots of fun with my Christmas gift. I am not that far in the game, but I decided to play it at the hard level for bass and guitar, which hopefully, does not bring too much laughter from the younger set. We have also enjoyed the game as a family playing as a band. But perhaps the greatest part of my son’s gift to me has been the gift of music. I have had a great time playing my Guitar Hero guitar and my real guitars.
I am so proud of my little gift giver (even though he is not so little anymore). It has been wonderful receiving a gift that keeps on giving in many different ways.
© 2010 Michael T. Miyoshi
Balance · 30 January 2010
I stand on one leg when I put on my shoes. Even when I tie the laces. I do that because I read somewhere that it is a good exercise to help with your balance. I used to stumble and almost fall and of course, sometimes I need to put both feet on the ground to make sure I do not fall. But for the most part, I keep my balance on one foot from the time I pick up my shoe until the time I finish tying it. Or at least I used to do that.
Unfortunately, I have not gone back to tying my laces on one foot since my Achilles tendon surgery. But I will because it was a fun little exercise and my physical therapist said standing on one leg would be good to strengthen my ankles and the muscles around my Achilles.
When I was doing physical therapy, I was supposed to stand on one leg on top of a pillow. I used a wadded up towel as a substitute for the pillow when I was recovering from my surgery and regaining my strength. As a matter of fact, I tried to do as much on one foot as possible. I am not sure that I started doing it for rehab, but to this day, I stand on one foot in the shower when I am washing the other leg. (It is much better than the days of having to sit on a stool and have a bag over my casted leg.)
Another practice that I have kept from my days of Achilles rehabilitation is standing on one foot while brushing my teeth. When I told my physical therapist that I was doing this, he got the strangest look on his face. I realized later that he must have envisioned me wobbling around on one foot moving the toothbrush back and forth in my mouth. He probably saw me with toothpaste suds all over my face as I waved my other arm wildly around trying to keep balanced against the action of my toothbrushing arm. I had to laugh when I saw this image, but I never did tell him that I use an electric toothbrush. He probably tells his other patients not to brush their teeth standing on one leg lest they poke an eye out.
While I would not recommend standing on one leg to brush your teeth with a manual toothbrush, I like the idea of standing on one leg to practice my balance for as many mundane activities as possible. More than just tying my shoes and brushing my teeth. It is good to practice those yoga poses I learned on the Wii even when I am not playing the Wii Fit game. And those one-legged poses have the added benefit of just being good for me and my Achilles.
Hopefully, I will not need to see the physical therapist again for rehabilitation, but since we live in small town America, if I do see him, I will make sure to tell him I am still working on strengthening my leg. I will also tell him that when I stand on one leg brushing my teeth, I use an electric toothbrush. Then I will show off and tie my shoe laces while balanced on one leg.
Standing on one leg to tie my shoe is not a novel idea. It might be an odd idea, but did I read in a book somewhere that it is good for you. For me, it has an added benefit as well. Now that my readers (both real and imaginary) know I do it, I can be ready with the pelican joke. When people ask me why I lift one foot to tie my shoe, I will give be ready with the punch line to that old joke, “Because if I lift them both, I would fall.”
© 2010 Michael T. Miyoshi
Heavy Doses of Perspective · 23 January 2010
It seems that I have been getting heavy doses or at least many doses of perspective lately. I had at least three last weekend.
The news about the devastation in Haiti has made me thankful that I have running water and shelter over my head. And that I have my loved one around me. I was thankful that I had not been touched by the disaster until I went to church last weekend and realized that more than one person in the congregation had direct ties to people there. I came to the realization that regardless of where disaster strikes, we probably have at least indirect ties to people there. This heaviest dose of perspective helped me realize that I really had been affected by an earthquake thousands of miles away in a faraway land.
A little lighter dose came from playing basketball for the first time in a couple years. It was a freeing feeling knowing that I could run, jump, and play basketball (as much as what I do can be called playing basketball) without worrying about getting injured. Sure, I try to take precautions to keep from reinjuring myself, but those happen with preparation so that I can play the game with abandon. Even if I am just running up and down the court trying to make myself look useful. This lightest dose of perspective made me thankful for my health.
A third dose of perspective came as I was writing last weekend. I was writing my column as a student of mine was writing an essay. She had come to me a day or two before she had to write the essay to get some perspective from a writer’s point of view. We talked about ways to prepare for the essay which was part of the competitive process for a huge scholarship. Apparently, the potential rewards from the essay were giving her stress and she needed some guidance to help alleviate that stress. We did some investigation, talked about her preparations so far, and discussed final preparations for the writing she would do. When we had finished our conversation, she was feeling much less anxiety than when she arrived.
The perspective I received from my student was that she was writing for her future, while I was just writing a blog. She was competing with about a hundred other students for a prestigious scholarship while I was writing to fill cyberspace with what I fancifully call a “human interest column.” Her writing had serious ramifications while mine just fulfilled my need to write. Do not get me wrong. I take my writing and my readers (both real and imaginary) seriously. But I realized that at this point in my writing career, my writing does not mean much in the grand scheme of things while my student’s one essay could mean everything to her.
The doses of reality and perspective that I received last weekend were heavy doses indeed, but they served their purpose to remind important lessons. They reminded me that I have lots to be thankful for, including the most basic needs like clean water and shelter. They reminded me that I am fortunate to have my health and loved ones surrounding me. They reminded me that I am lucky to be able to write without the weight of the world on my shoulders. They helped me remember just how lucky I am.
With all the heavy doses I have been getting lately, I am glad that I have never heard of anybody dying from too much perspective.
© 2010 Michael T. Miyoshi
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