Fathers and Sons

Today, I would like to give a shout out to my wonderful husband. He usually is the one who reminds me that our two babies aren’t babies anymore, and should be allowed to do more things. The featured image in this post was taken yesterday at the playground. My husband was helping our three year old son climb a set of bars that curve toward the horizon at the top.

Our son has always been adventurous and daring. He was climbing monkey bar ladders higher than our heads before his second birthday. The wider spread rungs and curve of the bars pictured above still give him trouble though.

Watching them yesterday was the perfect example of what kind of parents we want to be, and reminded me of how wonderful my husband was.

There is a difference between protecting and sheltering. There is a difference between allowing recklessness and teaching safety. We don’t want our kids to be afraid of the world and to never experience it. We want to teach them how to navigate life safely.

Our three year old started climbing the bars on his own yesterday. My husband went to help him, to teach him how to do it, to catch him if he slipped. When our son wanted to climb higher, he encouraged him. When he decided to climb back down, he said, “Thats okay, you’ll get it next time.”

He didn’t baby him, or scold him, or tease him for changing his mind at the end. I’m glad he was there. If I had been there by myself, I probably would have been gently saying, “Be careful, be careful, be careful…” And I don’t want to teach our children that, well, not that alone. I don’t want to nurture unnecessary or excessive fear in them, caution sure, but not timidity. I love that they are bold. I’d love for them to be trailblazers.

Thus, to my husband, I say thank you. Thank you for being there to encourage and, quite literally, catch our son if he should fall. Thank you for reminding me that our babies aren’t babies anymore. Thank you for offering me a second set of eyes in which to see the world through. Thank you for instilling bravery within me, within the kids, within all of us. Thank you.

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