Hug a Lefty!

That's me!!! My sister Barb and I were tagged yesterday in an article announcing the fact that it was International Left-Handers' Day. Finally.... recognition is here for the Left-Handed people in the world. We're a minority, really. They say only 10-13% of the world population. Fighting for correct scissors, spiral binders and ink that doesn't cover our poor little pinky after writing. Apparently, this celebration has been going on since 1992. Dang. I could have really leveraged this through the past two decades. Maybe I did back in the day, just can't remember.

I will confess, it's been a mixed bag of love being left-handed. Early years nearly left (stop, no pun) me scarred. Like in Kindergarten for example. Guessing circa 1971. It was time to cut and paste. Easy assignment for most. Cut the shape, paste it on the page that matches the shape. Recess was the reward after finishing. Recess for most. Except for me and the larger boy for his age. We sat inside, watching the kids playing outside. Not sure why the boy was there. I was there because I couldn't operate the scissors and was too shy to tell the teacher.

Other annoying times in childhood occurred when playing softball. Apparently pitching to a left-handed player that is short doesn't bare well for the pitcher. Or really for the batter, me. Too often was walked after being clobbered by the ball in my back... I retired from softball, but not until after receiving my nickname, "Lefty". Bittersweet.

So I began to teach myself to be right-handed. Like golfing and throwing a frisbie. My grandpa always said I would be a much stronger golfer if I played right-handed. Maybe it's really because he didn't want to rent "lefty" clubs so I could share my grandmas....hmm. Actually just came to my mind 30 years later. At any rate, I learned to play right-handed, though couldn't give up putting left-handed. I also did find spiral binders in college that the spiral was on the right side. Heaven. Though, more expensive if I recall.

I'm proud to be left-handed. It's different. I get to choose my spot at the table most often so as not to bump elbows with the commoners. I tried to get my kids to be left-handed as babies. From changing the spoon in their tiny hands or gently saying no-no when they reached with their right hand for a toy. Nothing was going to work. All three girls are right-handed. I'm the only one who squeezes her hand into her softball glove to play catch with the right glove. It is hereditary. So maybe grandkids will be blessed with this uniqueness.

From what I understand, the right brain hemisphere controls the left hand and vice versa. Apparently, that's where the creativity, spacial awareness, music, gestalt (whole picture), dimension and emotional expression comes from. Versus the left hemisphere (right hand) that is linear thinking, writing, language, science, math, list and logic come from.

Maybe on a natural level but I also believe you can teach your brain to do the opposite. Or funny, a teammate today told me a story about how he was so into the analytics and science and engineering in his brain, yet he is a very talented graphic designer. Maybe you throw dominance of brain into delivery from the other side. Maybe I'm a really creative list maker...

I will come back tomorrow to share my week of the caribbean with you. Though I'm not feeling as bronzed as I should be for August. Hot weather in July kind of burned the desire to worship the sun.

Happy Is being Left-handed. And all that.


* Not my hand. Found the image from Indiana.edu.