This afternoon, M and I ran around outside playing hide and seek.
I was crouched behind a snowbank and peeking through the trees as I watched him 'seek'.
As he ran across the ice, he slipped and fell. My immediate instinct was to run, catch him and make sure that he was alright.
But, being a fairly competitive 'hider', I waited and watched.
He stood, brushed himself off, and then laughed. Then he started to run and slide and fall intentionally.
It seems that, as a mother, I will always want to run and make things better, make sure that he isn't hurt, make sure that I can soothe him when he is. But the truth is, I can't be there every moment.
And sometimes, I need to wait and watch him fall.
And sometimes, the falling will lead to laughter and important lessons and beautiful things that neither of us could have imagined.
I was crouched behind a snowbank and peeking through the trees as I watched him 'seek'.
As he ran across the ice, he slipped and fell. My immediate instinct was to run, catch him and make sure that he was alright.
But, being a fairly competitive 'hider', I waited and watched.
He stood, brushed himself off, and then laughed. Then he started to run and slide and fall intentionally.
It seems that, as a mother, I will always want to run and make things better, make sure that he isn't hurt, make sure that I can soothe him when he is. But the truth is, I can't be there every moment.
And sometimes, I need to wait and watch him fall.
And sometimes, the falling will lead to laughter and important lessons and beautiful things that neither of us could have imagined.
