Letting go means the odd scrape and fall

As I continue with my journey through parenthood, I'm learning that sometimes you have to let go, even when you don't want to.

Darling daughter is closing in on the age of two. She has been walking for months and as the nicer weather arrives, I'm realizing that I don't have to carry darling daughter everywhere. She can walk to the car from the house and vice versa. She can stand by the car while I quickly throw her diaper bag and my purse in the car. She can walk around outside and doesn't need to be ferried everywhere in her stroller. While I'm proud that darling daughter is exerting her independence, it is also bittersweet as she is no longer a baby.

Today we went to the Canadian Agricultural Museum. It is a working farm and research station that provides visitors the opportunity to taste the sights and sounds of farm life. Wearing her new pink rubber boots, I freed darling daughter from her stroller so she could test out her new footwear. She walked in one of the barns and then outside near one of the cattle displays. She was doing relatively well as she got her bearings in her somewhat clunky new boots, but then she fell. Although she caught herself with her right hand, she did scrape her nose. There was tears. There was swearing (from me, under my breath) as well as a quick clean up involving water and Kleenex.

Although I did strap darling daughter back into her stroller, it was only for a short time until I could assess damage. And there is nothing that Polysporin won't help. And like the trouper she is, she was back walking in her boots. My first thought was to keep her strapped in her stroller, but I realized that is just silly. While this may be her first official scrape of toddlerhood, it won't be the last. With the tears mopped up, I let her down so she could walk. And off she went, stomping in her pink rubber boots. My baby is growing up. It is hard to let go, especially when you don't want to.