As your children grow up, you are supposed to let them try new things, test their independence and such. I think I am doing this fairly well. I let Tuba Boy go to Buda to "hang out" with Friend Girl, which is farther than I'd let him go without parental supervision before. And that worked out fine.
Now he decided he wants to apply for a job where his friend applied. I am going to let him give it a try, though I hope it will not mess up his studying, with all his school activities. It would be good for him to have some money, a bank account and all this. Plus, he decided--I didn't pressure him. In fact, we were not going to pressure him.
And here we see me letting Beccano stretch his wings. Some of you may know I have a pretty big fear of motorcycles. Seen too many injuries, heard too many stories. Feel they are unsafe, more from the perspective of fools in cars not respecting them than from the cyclists.
But, here I am sharing my life with a man who came equipped with a motorcycle. A big one. As you can see, it's not a "crotch rocket," and has lots of safety features. Beccano expressed an interest in riding. Lee got him a helmet. But, they'd never found a good time to try riding until yesterday. They showed up at the yarn shop so we could go buy a curtain rod to finish the guest room, helmets in hand (in the middle of a risque yarn shop discussion, too).
And I was OK. I let Beccano stretch his wings, under the supervision of someone I trust. He said he really had fun, and Lee said he figured out how to lean into turns really well. As you can see, even in 95 degree heat, Lee wears long sleeves, long pants, boots and gloves. So did Beccano. (Usually Lee wears a summer motorcycle jacket, too--safety first.) To me that all looks hot and uncomfortable, but I am glad they had fun, and glad that I am letting my little boys, who are both approaching 6 feet tall, spread their wings.
3 comments:
aye! You're a good mama. I'm glad I still have some more time to practice letting them spread their wings with simple stuff like putting their own temporary tattoos on :)
A fellow volunteer at your previous employment place is the one who made me realize that I didn't have to control every little thing, like access to temporary tattoos. And we've all benefited- perhaps me even more so than the kids- know what I mean?
And did Suna mention that TubaBoy is lobbying for a permanent tattoo? That might be a bit too much of a wing stretch.
I think you do so well for your boys. They are incredibly lucky to have you for a mama! You make them feel safe enough to ask you about spreading their wings and you respect them enough to let them try. They know you will be there whenever and wherever they need you. Not enough parents do that for their children!
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