Sunday, I chatted briefly with a friend. Both of her boys were born near the holidays, you see, and therefore get to celebrate their half-birthdays in the summer. When we ran into one another, the younger of the two was getting off his brand new bike. After offering appropriate admiration his eyes flew wide and a smile teased his lips. He then proceeded to tell me all about it–but the first words out of his mouth were not as you might imagine. He said nothing of the awesomeness of his ride, the training wheels that allow him to ride by himself, or the places he’s roamed.
I fell down, he said. You fell down? I echoed. Like a knight sensing a great conquest, he puffed out his chest, and continued, I fell down two times . . .
As we discussed the extent of injuries {my first thought when falling down} his brother sidled up. Well, I fell down six times! Six times, if you can even believe; with that, the younger had no recourse but to revise his exploits: I mean, I fell down three times–three times!
As if they are not ridiculously adorable enough, at that moment I could have grabbed them and gobbled them up. Cute, smart, and brave–wee knights, indeed.
I don’t know about you, but I could use a little of their unbridled bravery to rub off. To face life with little concern for the breaking of a leg or the injury to pride. To set my sights; to charge forward even when fear rears its ugly head–even when I could fail miserably, especially when I could fail miserably. For it’s only when we view ‘failure’ as part of of the adventure, that we’ll ever know just how far we can go . . .
You're exactly right – little boys who live for the thrill. Of course, it becomes a bit more disturbing when they've grown up and become big boys who continue to live for the thrill. But those people are the ones who push me and make me embarrassed to be afraid. So cheers to all boys of all ages and everyone living for the thrill
My recent post At that awkward age
The older we get it\’s not just the physical injury we worry about, but pride–that\’s why so many dreams get abandoned. We\’re scared to fail.
So yes, here\’s to those who push us–and to recognizing the difference between those who push us for our own good, and those are just plain stupid. 😉