Good-bye to the Training Wheels
This blog is written by Mark Morris.
My wife and I have always enjoyed going to the State Park in our area and camping. We are not great outdoor adventurers, but we enjoy the scenery and the fun of outdoor cooking. The enjoyment of camping is the building of the campfire and a good cup of coffee roasting a hot dog or eating s’mores.
When we became parents to our grandchildren, they too enjoyed camping. As they got older, they went from riding their tricycles to bringing their bicycles with training wheels to ride at the campground.
The roads at the campground were paved with asphalt and this always provided a safe place for the children to ride. We would sit by the campfire, and we could hear the children as they rode their bikes up and down the road.
There were boundaries that were set as to how far they could go. “You have to turn around when you get to the big tree before the curve” or “Don't go past the corner by the red camper”. Knowing where the children were became was easy because of the distinct clanging of the training wheels on the asphalt.
They would ride their bikes, and we would enjoy the campfire. Everyone felt safe when the boundaries were respected. A few simple rules were explained, “Don't go into anyone else's campsite” and “Always pull over to the side of the road when a vehicle is approaching.” When they thought they were on their own, they were never out of our eyesight. Besides we could always hear the clanging of their training wheels.
How well I remember the day they decided they were big enough for the training wheels to come off. None of their friends had them, and it was apparent to them that they no longer needed them.
Off came the training wheels and my wife and I would hold them up to steady them until they were able to balance and pedal at the same time. Soon they were zooming up and down the same road. With the training wheels gone, their boundaries and freedoms begin to expand. Even though the rules never changed, the road they could travel seemed even farther out.
Recently my wife and I took a few days and revisited the campground where we used to take the grandchildren. We sat in front of the campfire and looked out over the road, where just a few short summers ago , the clanging of the training wheels on the asphalt road rang in our ears.
In our grandchildren's early lives, we set boundaries and established rules. They were always in our eyesight, and we knew where they were and who they were with. However, there came a day when the training wheels of life had to come off. We helped steady them until they could get their balance and pedal through life. Grandparents who are parents to your grandchildren, please realize the importance of training wheels. Your helping them to learn the boundaries and rules of successful living will make such a difference for them. Realize there will come a day when they go on their own way through life.
If they peddle beyond the boundaries you set, our obligation is to be there to try to help heal the scraped knees and the wounded pride. Always love and pray for them but remember they must choose how far and fast they peddle.
Would you mind sharing your letting go experience? It may help those who are at this stage and those getting ready to be there. God bless till next time.