Challenge 4!!! Can’t believe we’re at the final challenge already!!! I decided to set myself this challenge, this is because cooking is a life skill, therefore, I thought it would be useful to know what I can and can’t do within the kitchen to adapt for the future. Whilst cooking I did think of ways things ways to adapt, so this challenge has been the most useful learning kerb.
Some aspects of this process were more difficult than others, and peeling the potatoes was by far the hardest. I was very slow at peeling them and as you can see, I was peeling off very fine pieces, it was hard to keep the potato still even though I was doing it on my non- slip matt. However with many thanks to my mums suggestion we did come up with a solution of stabbing the potato with a fork whilst peeling to hold it (I was annoyed I didn’t think of this as I’m meant to be the one studying OT) which did make a lot of a difference, halving the amount of time as now I could to 2 potatoes an hour instead of 1! In all honesty, though I was very slow managing to do 1 potato whilst mum did the rest. This is so good to know for the future though as I guess I just thought that eventually, I’d be able to do it, in actual fact this may not be the case and this is okay I just need to explore other alternatives such as buying potatoes that are already peeled.
However, mashing the potatoes was a whole different game and for the better indeed! I have an electric potato masher, and this is the best way forward for myself, it still requires good strength but the difference is stamina isn’t really involved as it only takes a minute.
Putting the beef in the oven was alright a struggle but it’s possible. This challenge really frustrates me because I know how to cook, and I enjoy it, but, because of the physical demands I just avoid it. Of which I know doing this will only make thing worse as the more I do it the better I’ll get! Getting things out of the oven was harder than putting them in as oven gloves don’t really work for myself because of the lack of grip, so again this means I need to explore different avenues.
I’m so glad I did this challenge as it enables me to then understand my weaknesses and strengths within cooking, of which I now can pull apart my weakness to eventually get better at the activity. My plan is to cook on a regular basis and to try and work on my cooking skills by exploring different meals as therefore I will know where my strengths and weakness lie.
I have really enjoyed completing these challenges, as some of these challenges are more than challenges they’re life skills, and this month has made me realised that I will struggle to complete these life skills all the way throughout my lifetime. I mentioned in a previous blog post that with these challenges I just thought that eventually with age I’d be able to complete them when realistically this may not be the case! Yes, this is frustrating as I am very determined, but it’s not worth the worry, there’s always an alternative. A few weeks ago, I did a blog post about unexpected battles and these challenges were definitely unexpected battles to young Georgia, but as I’ve got older, I’ve got used to the idea that not everything is going to be as easy as it seems and this has become the norm.
Thank for reading all the challenges I have loved all you’re support it has been incredible! Happy Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month 2019!!
Georgia
@georgiavine4213
@GeorgiaVineOT
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