Today was a great day. We were outside, kicking the ball, running through leaves and climbing rocks. The sun was shining and it was unseasonable warm. Nothing but love, fun and danger all around us. See, my son loves to be dangerous. I know this cause he told me so, today.
We were standing at the foot of a huge rock. We were watching some grown-ups rock climbing. You know, with the professional shoes and hand chalk. My son said that he wanted to do that..."I DO THAT" were his exact words. I explained while smiling that he might have to wait for a few years (he is only 22 months). I said to him, "Are you dangerous?" And he quickly replied, "Yes. I dangerous." I wasn't the only one who heard this or the only one who laughed. It was adorable and he said it with such a serious face. So I took him to a part of the rock that I felt he could tackle.
We started on a nice incline and then he had to go to all fours. It didn't take him very long but he did it...all by himself. He reminded me of the "all by myself" part about every other step as he was swatting my helping hand away. When we got to the top, he was beyond proud of himself. I was pretty nervous most of the way up the rock but when I saw how much he needed to challenge himself and be dangerous, I knew the only thing I could do was support him.
My job, as the mom of a danger boy, according to my pediatrician, is to let him explore and be there to protect his head. We have to let our children be dangerous within reason. We have to let them fall and learn from their mistakes. We can still hold our breath when we get nervous, we can still beg them to be careful but we can't keep them from running, climbing and jumping for danger joy!
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