Roots and Wings

An old adage states that the two most important things we can give to our children are roots and wings. From the moment they are born, we nurture their roots, grounding them in family and faith. A nurturing that continues all through their lives. With pride and trepidation, we've been watching the wings of Chris and Sami emerge and grow over the years, from their first tentative crawl to their first shaky steps. As those shaky steps become surer, they tested their wings more and more. Chris with calculation began exploring his environment, carefully planning each step. Sami threw caution to the wind and took off before figuring out where she was going or how she would get back.

As they tested their wings, we continued to nurture those roots, through love and discipline, letting them know they had a safe place to land when those wings tired out. Lately we've been testing their wings. Chris has enjoyed comparing and comparing the prices of different brands of food to get the best deal, and moving fruit on and off the scale until he gets exactly the right weight. Sami made a great friend in the little boy down the street. She likes him because he has a swingset and sandbox. Plus he's four and will do whatever she wants. The biggest thrill for them has been ordering their own meals at restaurants.

Yesterday, they had their first real taste of freedom. They biked to the park all by themselves. We checked on them after a half hour but they were happily playing. Chris had found a boy his age to play with and Sami was engaged in a game of Narnia with a group of kids. So, we left and told them to come home when the sun started to go down. We did learn that we should have been specific in describing dangerous behavior to avoid when mom and dad aren't there, like climbing on the top of the tube slide.