Taking a Flying Leap (with faith?)

The other night, darling husband and child were sitting on the couch. I was in the kitchen washing dishes, something I do way too much of, when I decided to peek in and see what the guys were up to. Well I look around the corner just in time to see tiny guy, look excitedly at the floor and throw his weight its way. Big guy was quick enough to catch the airborne 11 month old. Never in my life has panic set in so quickly. I actually had to stop and catch my breath. At this point my not-so-darling husband is howling with laughter at my reaction, I actually contemplated punching him.

This whole moment kept playing over in my mind, again and again. I had many thoughts and feelings about what had occurred. Once the mother in me got over herself, I could look at the leap for what it was. My child had an urge and just went for it. Ah the simplicity of a child's mind. I looked at him with a wild gleam in his eye, purposefully crawling to the current object of his desire. As I watched the scene progress, I thought to myself, little man stay this small forever, you will always be able to leap before you look.

As we grow older the world gets in the way forcing us to create rules, to stay within the lines. We eventually become aware of how hard the floor is and how much it will hurt when we land on our soft parts. It makes sense that self preservation becomes a large driving force in our lives. However sometimes I think people forget to have fun while they are struggling to survive. We sweat the small stuff, we sweat the big stuff, and all the stuff inbetween. We learn horrible words like finances, career, chores, responsibility. We find out the there is no more recess, no more naptime. It becomes far too easy to let life, and all that it entails, overwhelm us. If only we could keep some of the "leap before you look" mentality my son currently has. If only we could stop and smell those roses more often.

I spend a great deal of my day playing, having fun chasing my son. My husband works his two jobs, to make this possible. I love him for it. Our decision for me to stay at home has created certain obstacles, but the alternative would pose just as many. I think about the leap my son took and hope I can absorb some of his "no caution for the wind". I could use a reminder to just accept things as they are, not to worry so much, to just jump off the furniture every once in a while. I suppose I will just have to keep working on it and have a little faith. Things always work out the way they are supposed too, whether I worry about them or not.