We had an interesting experience last week on vacation. We were in Maryland with Heather’s parents and we took Reagan to a small amusement park on the beach. We ended up having one of those moments. You know, one of those moments when reality reaches down and taps you on the shoulder and you will be changed forever. It all happened at the cars that go in the circle. We decided to allow Reagan to ride (deep down neither of us thought that he would do it). As we put him in the car and gave the tickets something very unexpected happened. He got behind the wheel and a sense of freedom came over him. He did not ask us to ride along. An offer would have been nice. As the ride started there was this incredibly surreal moment. Reagan’s shaggy hair began to blow in the wind and we only got an occasional glance as He passed us by. This moment may not seem that significant, but in a very real way I began to evaluate life and consider the future of our family. IN that moment I realized the freedom circle will continue to get bigger as Reagan gets older. One day we will watch him leave for school, spend the night with a friend, begin to drive a real car (man, what will gas cost then…), graduate, get married!? All in that moment it became very apparent that we are training him to live on his own. I was a little relieved when I looked at Heather and noticed that she too was impacted. I watched the tears run down her cheeks. Our little boy is doing exactly what he is supposed to be doing and there was not a thing we could do about it. For the record, I was not crying, I just simultaneously got something in both of my eyes. I was reminded again at the brevity of life. It seems like ust yesterday we celebrated Reagan’s birth and tomorrow (Lord willing) his circle of freedom will expand even more. I hope that we can do a good job!
Brad
