Don't curb the spirit

I really enjoy my life. I am married to a caring, though sometimes absent minded loving man and I have the most wonderful and intelligent two year old on the planet. Hey, I’m her mom and it’s allowed.

Life seems to change daily, with a pace that is hard for this “mature” mom to keep up with. Sometimes I think I’m still stuck in last week and Sarah is running full tilt into next week. She’s got her throttle wide open and a need for speed and experiencing life’s adventures. It’s amazing and awesome to watch her joy at everything, even the doctor’s office is just an experience to be conquered and enjoyed for her.

I wasn’t adventurous growing up. The reasons could be explored all day, but at the end of the day the fact still remains; adventure and seeking thrills and adrenalin rushes were not a part of my childhood and adolescence. My husband was just the opposite. Fast cars, fast skiing—resulting in many injuries--, hiking, exploring, fishing Steelhead on swift rivers, boating… well testing the limits in a lot of areas seemed to have been the story of his youth.

I am learning to let go. Explore, taste adventure, sample adrenalin and you know what, it’s not bitter like I suspected. There is a certain flavor and spice to it. Sure it’s new and yes I am too old to make it a steady diet, but I am learning; for Sarah’s sake. She’s her father’s daughter. She loves new things, falling, climbing, new people, new places, sliding down slippery slopes, running into rushing water, etc. They are all new things to add to her life story and the spice she seems to have inherited from her father. She loves life and instead of teaching her to fear it, I am hoping I can help her learn to live it. We might fall, we might get hurt, but at the end, do we want to show up in a perfectly preserved body, or would we rather say, what a ride! I took the life I was given, and let my light shine!

While I am saying experiencing life is fun, I hope to be able teach Sarah to do it wisely. You don’t drive a car without certain safety equipment, right? Much like the rich fertile earth that every spring needs to be tilled and planted with care and concern for it's well being, so must a parent be.

As three fast approaches I wonder what new wonders will be experienced and new joys explored.

Happy gardening,