Commentary by Lorene Burkhart
Your hands are holding this newspaper. Earlier they washed your face, held your toothbrush, combed your hair, helped you get dressed, held your coffee cup and the list continues.
Imagine life without your hands. No piano playing, no holding a pencil or pen, no caressing a newborn, no holding hands with your sweetheart.
From life’s earliest moments we are reaching for our food source and the security of a mother’s touch. As we grew, we used our tiny hands to demonstrate our discomfort and to hold on to whatever we could grasp. In school, the girls played jacks and pick up sticks (olden days) while the boys tossed a ball. We wrote on the blackboard, learned cursive writing while holding a pencil and held our schoolbooks.
Sports opened new possibilities for our hands. We caught and threw balls, dribbled basketballs, carried footballs and held a tennis racket or a golf club.
We held ice cream cones and wedges of watermelon and we learned how to properly hold eating utensils.
In 4-H, I learned to thread a needle, make tiny stitches, guide fabrics while using the sewing machine, hold measuring cups and spoons and stir the baking project.
On the farm I “dressed” the springers (meaning I prepared the chicken for being cut up after its demise) and I gathered the eggs after feeding the chickens. Fortunately, I did not milk the cows, that’s what my brothers did. Hands held the bridle after securing the harness.
Our hands open the car door, turn the key, hold the steering wheel and push the buttons. Imagine all of the jobs that wouldn’t be possible if there were no hands. I guess robots will eventually take the place of human hands, even in difficult surgeries. Time will tell.
These days our hands hold our cellphones, tap the keys of our computers and try to open sealed packages and pill bottles. As we age our hands may begin to fail us as they become stiff and tired. Younger hands assist us as our older hands can’t manage familiar tasks.
Hands can comfort others, wipe tears and point when the voice fails. Then they are folded in peace.
Hooray for our hands.
