How many times have you tied your shoelaces? How many times have you looped your ears and pulled the strings through? How many times were they too loose? And how many times did you pull those ears tight enough so you could walk without them falling apart?

It’s not easy tying shoes with one or two fingers, or even with one hand, like me. But if we keep practicing with what we have, we will master bow-tying and anything else in our lives. It took me a long time to get those show laces right. It took a wonderful occupational therapist to show me how. Simple for some, tying laces was not for me, with only one working hand.

We have to keep building up our strength and putting our best effort forward to accomplish our feats (pun intended). It takes a lot of encouragement to use our abilities until we get something just right. When we are children, we need that encouragement. As simple as something might seem, it’s not always simple for us. It takes practice and dedication. Time can be our best friend. Starting is the key.

I affirm: today I will practice, practice, and keep practicing for as long as it takes. I will keep learning how to loop my bows securely. I will learn how to hold them tight enough, in place, and nurture my movements until I’m able to pull the ears through. As a person with a disability, I am committed to learning to tie my shoes.

That’s what I told myself when I was seven years old and struggling with shoelaces. Now I say, if I can do it, if I could do it, then you can learn it too.

Keep your faith in yourself. You can do it too!

Original text ©2022 Karen Lynn-Chlup. All rights reserved.

(Image from OCAD U, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons)