I’ve recently realized that training wheels are not just for your first bicycle. Training wheels are everywhere you look. I’m spending a summer reading way too many pages for a test that is way to big and vague. I’ve got training wheels though. I’m learning from others who have done it before me. I’m taking tips from masters and advice from anyone willing to lend it. I’ve got an entire army of training wheels around me and I’m quite pleased to have them. Training wheels lead to success.
So when our son now wants to grab hold of our fingers and walk with the aid of his parents we are overjoyed to help him out. This isn’t something he should have to do alone or with some piece of immobile furniture. Our son needs the reassuring pointer fingers of Mom and Dad. He needs to rest assured that while he’s trying out this new skill he won’t tumble and fall and harm himself terribly. He needs to know that if he does happen to fall there are hands and arms ready to sweep him up into a loving embrace. Our son needs “training wheels” and we’re happy to provide them.
This got me thinking about other training wheels. What other obstacles or milestones will he encounter? What other moments will he experience when he wishes he had a guiding and loving hand? We can’t be there forever, of course, but we can certainly always be willing to be there for him. As he looks more and more like a little boy (and less and less like a baby) I can already feel how fast life actually moves. Children, I think, provide perspective. Life really is short. Life really is valuable. So make the most of it. Utilize the “training wheels” in your life.