Letting go

Soon after his birthday Kindrick came to us with his bike and said "I'm 5 now I'm ready to take these tiny wheels off!"  We were like OK then lets do it!  So Andre took the training wheels off and we were ready to go.  I thought for sure that it would take lots of practice, and many falls before he would figure it out.  I remember learning how to ride my bike....I had so many bumps and bruises.  Come to think of it I guess that is not a big surprise especially since I learned on a gravel driveway in Alaska with pot holes the size of kiddie pools.  Anyway, I was all prepared for frustration and tears, but I was totally wrong.  He got it on his on the first try!  I did not want to let go of the bike and he was like "MOM let got!!!"  Once I let go of the bike I kept ahold of his sweatshirt, of course he also did not like that.  It was so hard for me to let him go!  The fear of him falling, of me having no control of his safety (besides the helmet, elbow pads, wrist pads, and knee pads I had strapped on him), it was really hard.  I guess it transcends into so many areas of motherhood.  There are so many times in our lives as mothers that we have to let go and give our children the opportunity to do things on their own.  Riding a bike or sending them off on their first day of school, it is all so scary and also exciting.  I noticed that each day that Kindrick rides his bike I start to become more comfortable with it, I feel more secure and less afraid of him getting hurt.  In stead of us running beside him just in case he starts to tip over, now we are starting to stand back and watch.  It is fun to see him be independent and proud of his success.  When he sees that we have faith in him to do it alone he begins to have more confidence in himself.  Just a small lesson to consider in this journey of being a parent.