Bumps & Bruises

I'm learning a lot from my six month old son.  He has recently learned to move from one place to another.  Whether it be an army crawl, real crawl, or series of rolls he can get wherever he wants to go. He rarely likes to be out in the open.  Beau can usually be found under a table or chair, climbing up and over boxes, and if he is on the bed or couch he quickly finds his way to the edge.

I've noticed that my six month old son is FEARLESS!  If we would let him, Beau would do some pretty dangerous stuff without even thinking about it.  He hasn't learned what it means to play it safe.  He doesn't weigh the pros and cons.  His what ifs look different than mine.  Rather than what if I fall he thinks what if I get on top of the coffee table?  It's not what if I hit my head it's what if I find out whats on the other side of this couch/bed/box.

As adults our what ifs slowly begin to change and we quickly begin to play it safe.  There is good to that and I know my wife and I need to teach our son how to be safe and not get hurt.  But hopefully not at the expense of creating fear.  Not at the expense of losing curiosity.  There has to be a way to balance safety and adventure.

The truth is sometimes Beau falls over and bumps his head and he cries.  Sometimes he gets stuck and gets frustrated.  And sometimes he gets hurt and sometimes he cries but that is how you and I learn.

Maybe I need to worry less about experiencing pain and more about learning to live life.  There will be bumps and bruises of all kinds.  But with each pain there is a story.  There is an adventure.  There is learning and growing.  And most importantly there is life.

Beau, you and I have a lot more learning to do with each other.  Here's to living and learning!