Resilience comes naturally.

Resilience seems to come naturally for children. They think nothing of falling down a million times to learn how to crawl, walk or any number of activities.

Since the Essential Tremor diagnosis a year ago, my five-year old Leah has continued to learn to write letters and numbers. Her shake is less noticeable as she becomes more proficient at writing. Our neighbor is a neurologist and at a dinner party, she explained that initially, her shake was more pronounced because she was concentrating so diligently.

We hardly notice her shake in everyday life. Yet, there are days when she is a messier eater than most five-year-old children or her exhaustion from the day makes her writing a bit shakier. Also, she shakes when she tries to cut paper. Consequently, her artwork is a bit more jagged than the other children. 

Recently, the Kindergarten teacher had an interesting observation. Leah's twin brother is in the same class. Their teacher mentioned that Leah's brother also seems to shake when holding a scissors. He has not been diagnosed as it seems unimportant at this point.

When the shake is present, she works through the shake without mentioning it or even noticing it. Sometimes, she simply needs to take a short break before completing her task or homework. Her teacher understands this and simply allows her to complete it another day. The shake is most noticeable when she is trying to make beaded bracelets, which is a common activity for girls this age.  I watch her try and try again. Her resilience is only exceeded by her concentration. After some time, she often enlists her friends to help her. It never discourages her spirit. 

Despite these challenges Essential Tremor has been a minor annoyance for us. Thankfully, we have had wonderful teachers who have been helpful and understanding. They do not draw attention to her shake and she has thrived. 

Hopefully, the shake does not progress, or if it does progress, may it progress slowly into old age.