Hubs and I took Red out to ride his tricycle a few weeks ago… It was given to him last Christmas by his Nana and Pop, but instead of riding it, only wanted to sit on it or push it around the yard. And trying to show him how to push the pedal was torturous for us both, so I never pushed the issue. Last May, when Red and I went for his 3 year checkup, they gave us a “milestones” checklist to fill out, just like all the years before. The last question? “Can your child place his feet on the pedals of a tricycle and pedal X number of yards?” Nope. He couldn’t. I panicked on the inside a little bit, wondering if this was a sign of motor delay, or was it just on the questionnaire to grade athletic acceleration? Who knows. Either way, it bugged me a little bit.
So, when Red finally showed interest this one late summer evening, I was like, “YEAH! We’re DOING this!” Except I was the only one treating the situation like that. I ran in for my good camera, set the dials and stressfully waited for the perfect shot setup. I teetered and danced around my husband as he patiently guided our son, helped him steer, and urged him to “kick and walk” the pedals. He was so patient with Red learning what to do. All I wanted Red to do was freaking push 5 pedals in a row so I could catch it on tape.
I know what you’re thinking. After we were all done, I figured it out, too. But in the meantime, all I could see was a slightly messy, but cutely dressed boy, a picture perfect bike, a shady summer day with a freaking rainbow in the sky. I was pulling my hair out that Hubs was in the shot (in his sweats… I apparently forgot to tell him that my brain decided it was an impromptu photo shoot), that Red wasn’t constantly smiling at the camera, that the bike was leading him into the ditch, that it wasn’t like one of those freaking Hallmark commercials.
I was worrying about the wrong thing.
When I was finally able to step back from the situation and delete the 9 million awful, blurry and “compromised” photos on the sidewalk, I realized that what I had was a perfectly awesome situation I almost wasn’t a part of. I put down my camera and spent the rest of the evening with my boys actually learning to ride the tricycle.
It’s not about the photos. It’s about looking at what I have, and knowing how awesome it is to be a part of it. And being in the moment; It’s so important to be there.
After everything had passed, I ended up making a very short video out of the pieces of footage and the rest of the photos. You can totally see my journey in footage to my realization of thankfulness.
Ahhh he’s getting so big. My girls don’t like the pedals. My almost 7 year old still won’t ride her bike. Poor thing is too scared. I bet he has a whole new braveness now!
Red looks like he’s got the hang of his trike!
I sometimes get too wrapped up in taking pictures and forget to just live the moment. Now that we have two kiddos, I have this urge to take double the photos — it’s insane! I’m getting better at just getting a few shots at the beginning of whatever we are doing, then setting the camera down to enjoy the time with our boys.
Great reminder. Smart phones didn’t exist in my life when Amelia was Andrew’s age, and I have to remind myself that he deserves the unplugged attention too.
It’s hard to remember to find this balance! We want to capture it all both for sharing and the baby books, etc. Sometimes the hardest & best choice is to be in the moment as we’ll never get it back. (BTW, yay to your son for learning to ride his trike!)
Oh, but, that last picture? Is total perfection!
(My N just rode her bike on two wheels for the first time tonight. I got a little video and that was it!)
Gosh, I remember those days! We documented everything our first child did! Our last child has asked, more than once, if she was adopted later in life because there’s not near as many pics/videos of her. 🙂 What a cute little guy!! He did great!
Bless your heart, you and Red both learned something that day! It was literally a picture perfect day with his giant happy face and God’s rainbow 🙂
This is perfect! Sometimes we all need to be reminded to be present and in the moment. Seems like you caught the image and yourself at just the right time!
What a great post!!! Love this!! As parents so many times we can miss moments like this.. so glad you didn’t!
Red is such a cutey! I remember those days when my girls first started riding their bikes. Cherish these moments!
Aww how adorable!!! 🙂
http://neatly-packaged.com/
Beautiful post! These moments are so special. I’ll never forget the day our five-year old took off on his bicycle for the first time. Go Red!!
What a little cutie!! HE looks so proud to be riding that trike!! What a special moment to share 🙂
🙂 Thank you! He was very excited that he figured it out!
Thanks, girl!! He’s still very slow, figuring it out. Leave it to him to finally do it AFTER The summer is over!
Thank you so much! I totally will.
Thanks so much. I can’t believe that I was doing that. What a total nutjob 🙂
I know! Right when I was like, whatever…. I got it and relaxed.
yes, thankful for the lesson!
right?! If we ever have a second kid… no baby book, no photos… little video. no evidence!
yay for N! I can see her racing down the street now.
and the balance is HARD. But I’m glad I was there for it, even in the last minutes of “being there”.
Yes, smart phone are awesome and also the bane of my existence.
It was a lesson I really needed. And right when I stopped caring, I got a great shot!
poor love! Yes, he was proud he figured it out, but he’s still rather take a toy shopping cart and race around the block.
The next YouTube sensation!
Yes I’m a mama because I’m sitting here at 1045 almost in tears. It might be Jay Z’s Holy Grail blasting in my ear with sweet Justin Timberlake’s sexy voice singing to me but I’m a little misty eyed. Isn’t it great to realize you’re in a moment? Lovely post and amazing little boy!
I have been there. I did miss the moment. It was M’s graduation. It was horrible.