Cartwheels and other impossibilities

I'm trying to teach my daughter how to do a cartwheel.

Quite a feat, seeing as I myself can't do one.

I've researched on the web, and all they say is it's a matter of timing -- one, two, three, four.

But Kate wants to be a REAL cheerleader, and apparently all REAL cheerleaders can do cartwheels.

I came the closest this evening as I ever had to doing my first ever cartwheel as I was showing her how you get a running start, do a little skip and then commit. Only, I landed funny on my left hand, and I messed up my little finger.

It wasn't a bad injury, but just enough to make me worry. I've made my living at writing for so long that I have long been concerned about what would happen if I injured my hands or fingers. I've had one near miss -- a friend of mine slammed a car door shut on my hand once, back when I was working at my old newspaper. I was terrified that I wouldn't be able to type. Thankfully, the hand was okay, and I could.

But it made me wonder ... does Nora have a policy with Lloyd's of London on her hands? What famous actress was it that had her legs covered by Lloyd's? And could I ever write by dictating?

I have had to make adjustments. For years I wrote longhand, but I have fibromyalgia and my hands couldn't take it. I went from a ballpoint to a big fat fountain pen, and finally I just had to start using a computer -- it was a tough transition because I was used to words flowing out with the ink, not on the screen. But I was glad I'd done it when I wound up working at a paper on deadline.

Still ... if I do eke out a career in this writing business, maybe I should at least give the Aflac duck a call, huh?

Oh, and anybody who has a no-fail method of teaching a five-year-old a cartwheel ... I would so appreciate it if you'd share the recipe!