We interrupt the adoption celebration 
for a little brag post.  
And a confession from the mama 
of  two amazing little girls
who both have
an extra chromosome. 

 
Last weekend we went to a pumpkin patch 
with our friends Sheila and Kenadie.
As we were leaving Sheila told us about
skating lessons at a skating rink
near their house
and invited us to come.

Hmmm...

Wednesday night a text came in
from Sheila reminding me about
skate lessons the next day.

Here are some of the thoughts
I was having:
  
Don't wanna do it.
I'm nervous.  
It will be too loud.
Lila will probably melt down.
Mama will probably be embarrassed.
It's an hour away~ too far to drive
for a 5 minute stay.
Don't wanna do it.

Thursday morning I woke up
knowing what I needed to do.
I had to make the drive
to the skating rink
and give my sweet girl a chance.

So I asked her.
"Lila, do you want to go 
roller skating?"
 To which she replied,
"YES! Sounds so fun!"

Decision made.

We busted butt and made it 
to the skating rink on time.
I was a mess while driving there.
A hundred scenarios raced
through my mind.

None of them were good.

Still, my little girl
deserved to
make the decision for herself 
whether she wanted
to learn to roller skate
or not.

We arrived at the skating rink
just as Sheila and Kenadie
were pulling up.

*Sigh of relief*

I don't know about you but for me
it is so helpful when I don't have to
enter into the unknown by myself.
Wait, let me clarify.
I'm fine heading into the unknown
when it's just me.
When the happiness/acceptance
of my girls is at stake, it sure does help
to have reinforcement.
In the form of a dear friend
who had to walk away from the safety
net we had when our girls were little
because her husband got transferred.
The same safety net I had to walk away from
when my husband was transferred.
 A dear friend who was just what the
doctor ordered walking into that skating rink.

It took a little while to find the right skates,
with the wheels tightened just right, but
Lila was finally ready to "skate".


She sat with Kenadie 
and the other kids 
while the instructions were given

When it was time to skate around the rink
she had her bottom firmly planted on the ground.
Smack-dab in the middle of the rink.
I'm talking
cemented to the ground.
Three different employees tried to talk
her into getting up but she wasn't having it.

We waited about 10 minutes but 
she wasn't budging.
Sheila volunteered to go out
and get her.

When Sheila brought her to me
Lila asked to go home.
And let me tell you that's
where I wanted to go too.
But I knew what I had to do.
I had to take my sweet girl
with her headphones and shaky legs
and make her give skating
a fair shake.

She wanted to come.
She wanted to learn.
And I needed to push her.

So push I did.  
We stayed on the carpet but I made 
her walk in those skates.

At first she resisted.
Oh, she wasn't happy with me.
We kept walking,
from one end to the other.

After a little while she didn't
want to hold my hands anymore.
She wanted to do it herself.

She even danced a little bit when
a song from The Lion King was played.

And mama did a happy dance.

I took these videos with
tears in my eyes.
 

 

Not to be outdone, 
Lexi decided to walk like
a pro through that skating rink.

Thankfully Sheila helped me 
keep up with them!


It's hard to put my daughter out there.
I know I will face these same feelings
with Lexi when she gets older. 
I've been in situations 
where it has been
very clear that Lila wasn't welcome
in the typical environment I had
chosen to include her in.

Kids can be mean.
Parents can be mean.

But if we don't push them
how will they ever know 
what they are capable of?

How will we ever know
 what they are capable of?

And how will they ever 
get the chance to show
 the rest of the world
what they are capable of?

4 comments:

  1. Yay, Lila!! Way to go!

    And way to go, Mama.

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  2. Good job, mama bear! It is so hard to push our kids into difficult situations and yet so rewarding when they show us just how capable they are! Lila, you are a rockstar!!!!

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  3. Thank you for this post. It came at a time when I needed to read it.

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  4. Hooray for Lila and Lexi! This post reminds me that sometimes we do need to give our kiddos a little push because we know the experience will be so rewarding when they do it.

    ReplyDelete