It all started in Texas when we went to a water park.
He was leery at first, and refused to budge unless I was holding onto his hand, but by the end of the day, he was going down slides by himself! As soon as he would slide into my arms he would say, "Mama? More?" He had a blast.
And he was exhausted by the end of the day...
Fast forward to a few weeks later, and Landon is STILL fascinated with sliding boards.
I love biking to the park with him. As soon as we pull into the parking lot, I can hear him in his bike trailer saying, "slide slide slide slide." His little, chubby legs can't get him over to the slide fast enough.
He knows to climb up the steps and slide down while I wait to catch him at the bottom.
Or when Tyler goes with us, one of us goes to the top with him and the other waits at the bottom for him...there is no way of him falling or hitting his head or scraping his elbows or knees. He is completely safe because we are right beside him.
However, this particular day, I was by myself.
Everything was going great. He was content with this small slide and was having a great time!
Then, he decided he wanted to try a different slide.
A slide that required him to step up and then sit down. Not to mention it was inclosed, so there was no way for me to help him from the ground.
So I thought to myself:
I can't NOT be there to catch him when he slides down. What if he can't stop himself...duh, he can't stop himself, he has no idea how to do that. He will fly out of the slide and he could hit his head.
But if I'm at the bottom, he won't be able to step up into the slide and sit down on his own and if he tries, there is no way he is going to make it without getting hurt.
But, he really wants to go down that slide. He is even signing, "please." Ok, Vanessa, don't be a helicopter parent.
So, I helped him into the slide, he sat down, and down he went!
Without me! Without me at the bottom to catch him! And guess what, he didn't fall, he didn't hit his head, and he went down about a dozen more times, without me there to catch him.
I decided then, this won't be the last time I have to let him go and do something where I may not be right there to catch him at the bottom when he falls. There will be times where he won't need me, even if I think he does.
He is going to be eighteen months in two days! And for some of you, that probably doesn't seem like a big deal. But for me, it is huge! He is already half way to being two years old! He is getting to be more and more independent.
I know this is only the beginning and I'm learning to take deep breaths as I watch him discover and try new things for himself. I'm learning I can't always be right there to catch him when he falls down and I can't always protect him from every little thing, because he has to learn what works and what doesn't work, even if that means scrapes and bruises here and there.
However, this doesn't mean I won't be here when he comes running to me to pick him up and hold him.
At some point, I'm going to have to let this little baby go and experience the world, even if that means he goes without me.
*Somebody send this to me when he is going off to kindergarten...*
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