One small step for Rand; one big step for independence. "No, No, No. Me," my son says as he tries to span a gap that seems impossibly large for his little, flip-flop clad feet. "Alright, son, I'm just minding the gap." As much as the refutation of my help hurt on some level, I loved his independence in this moment. Of course there was a chance he would get hurt. He was three feet up on a metal play set crossing a gap he probably had no business crossing. To me, this was a prime position for him to lose balance, topple over and bang his head on the metal play set. Probably multiple times. Have I mentioned its metal? He wobbled and my hand reflexively grasped at his shirt. Again the words came, this time with a swipe at my shirt-filled hand; the turn required for this rejection of Daddy unbalanced him more than anything he had done. "No, No, No." "Ok. I'm just here for you if you fall." Of course, if he fell, I...
We tried for one, and we ended up with a bushel of fun.