Motherhood's A Blast

Motherhood is a funny thing. At the same time that I wish Max was more self-sufficient, I get sad when he starts to show signs of independence. He has never been afraid of much, but his fearlessness has always shown itself within my radius, where he can easily access me or someone he knows almost instantly.

Yesterday, we brought Max to a cool indoor playground called The Blast, which is like a very clean version of a MacDonalds play area. The climbing equipment is designed for kids age 3-12, an age range that is creeping up on us very quickly. It took him awhile to discover the stairs to the upper level, but once he did, he was gone! Now, this is not like a regular playground, where your child is basically within your reach and within eyesight at all times. No, once he entered the rocket ship that was the staircase, he was out of sight and out of reach. We could only occasionally see flashes of his shirt or socks as he traversed the tunnel maze above our heads. I got sick with nerves- What if he gets run over by a big huge 5-year-old? What if he gets stuck??

Then we saw his little blond head pop into a window at the far end. He looked slightly nervous himself... Mom was 12 feet down on the other side of a plastic bubble! But he caught our eye and tried to look brave as he turned around to find his way back down.

He came shooting out of the rocket staircase toward us, obviously proud of what he had accomplished. Then Daddy brought him to see the window that he had looked down from just moments before. This must have made something click because before we left that night, my little boy had made his way to that window three more times, each time with more confidence and a bigger smile as he looked down at us from far above.

His comfort zone is increasing by leaps and bounds every day! My little boy is getting bigger and I can't do anything to stop it. I just pray that his guardian angel is as vigilant as his Daddy's was, because he won't always be within my reach.