A few days ago my hubby and I took Trinity to the bird park in our little town. The plan was to walk the trails and observe the animals and plants we came across (she's working on habitats in science). There are benches along the way and I assumed we'd need small breaks along the way. Typically she gets tired quickly when walking.
Before we hit the trails, she asked if she could swing for a moment. As she climbed up into the swing that sat the highest off the ground, I found myself watching her with awe. Her dad gave her one great big push and walked away. Again I watched as she leaned back as the swing came forward, then leaned forward as the swing went back. She's no stranger to the swing, but normally I end up settling myself in behind her so that I can give her a constant, gentle push to keep her going.
But not today!
Funny thing is, after a while I told her she could swing until it slowed down. It NEVER did! It was so great to see her smiling with confidence (and a little cockiness) as she propelled the swing forward even harder. After a she swung a little longer, I ended up having to stop her so that we could continue with our plans.
She's not a very outdoorsy type of girl so the walk didn't go quite as I had planned, but I was amazed to see how easy the walk ended up being for her. We did sit on the benches some, but only to be quiet and watch (hope) for some animal to come out. By the end of the trip, she was asking to go on another walk, a longer one.
Dad and I were burning up from the heat and convinced her to go to the park for a while instead. Normally I don't take her to the city park. Kids make me nervous. But we took her to the biggest park in town and turned her loose.
She had a blast!
One little incident did arise, but I was so proud of the way she handled it. A little boy followed her around forEVER just staring at her prosthetic. After a while of doing this, he came up to her and said, "I can run faster than you."
These are the types of situations that make me cringe at the thought of other kids.
But she handled better than I expected. She turned to him and said, "Wanna bet? Let's race!"
She didn't win, but she was very close and had a blast! She was proud of herself! And I was so proud of her I thought my heart might burst out of my chest.
Every day she teaches me to be a better, stronger person. I couldn't imagine not having her in my life. She's a blessing and she's the strongest person I know. She also shows me that it's okay for me to step back and let her take control. It's not always easy, but I'm getting there.
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