Be Careful!

Like most mothers I know, I have the amazing ability to predict every possible outcome of my children's daring acts of physical prowess. The first time on a two-wheeler with training wheels carries, as every good mother knows, the risk of skinned knees, concussion, broken bones, and death.

Okay, so maybe we mothers have a knack for exaggerating dangers.

As I stepped back from my five-year-old attempting to teach her three-year-old brother how to ride her big girl bike, I cautioned them to "be careful."

Be careful.

How often I direct these two words to my children! How deeply I hope they don't always heed them!

Granted, there are plenty of times when being careful is wise. I don't want my children to rush into danger, heedless of almost inevitable disaster. On the other hand, I want them to dream and to dare. I don't want them just to look at the big kid bike and walk away with drooping shoulders. I want them to look at the big kid bike, climb on without hesitation, stretch their legs to reach the pedals, struggle to apply the appropriate force, fall and get up again, and eventually ride like the wind.

I want them to feel the rush of having dreamed and dared to do that of which others think they are incapable. I want them to count the dangers a small price for the conquest.

Luke didn't master the big kid bike today, nor have I mastered the art of letting my children grow up. But I'm working on it.

I'm reminding myself: Be careful not to say too often, "Be careful."