I've seen her each morning this past week of summer. A little wisp of a girl on her brand-new big girl bicycle, shiny pink helmet guarding her head and a smile that won't stop.
Freedom. She tastes it -- possibly for the very first time. She rides up and down our street each morning, past my kitchen window, too many times to count. Pink and white tassels fly from her handlebars and flap in the wind, making her ride seem just a wee bit faster.
As parents, we want this freedom for our kids. No, really -- we DO. We dole it out to them in tiny measures at first. I still remember the first time I walked down the hall, away from my young toddler's room while he was busy and engaged with his books and toys. I was giving him a little gift -- some time alone without my constant chatter or my overwhelming need to note the color of something or the sound of the train whistle in the distance. A bit of space that says I trust you, have fun, make good choices.
I'll be right here.
What little pushes and cautious bits of freedom we give our little ones -- at times, reluctantly -- multiply and grow into a cloak they wear as teens. Freedom becomes expected, something they have earned bit by bit that we must never question or try to take back.
And so goes the delicate balance we live when the teens are home -- especially those who have lived on their own for a bit. Their freedom is everything to them, and offers of assistance or advice are often pushed aside.
I'm fine.
Yes, mom.
I've got this.
I don't need your help, but thanks.
Freedom.
When the little girl went by this morning, I asked my almost-15-year-old daughter if she remembered learning to ride her bicycle on this very same street. If she remembered the mom-imposed boundaries she was allowed to ride within without supervision. My version of without supervision at the time involved casually walking out to the sidewalk and cautiously squinting down the block to make sure she was still alive, that she hadn't fallen prey to the dozen or so scenarios I had crafted in my mommy brain and wrapped in a blanket of worry.
She did remember, and we both smiled at the memory of a feisty little 3-year-old whose boundaries were the tree five houses down and the crack in the sidewalk just almost around the corner. The boundaries and edges of our comfort zone stretch and reshape themselves, until we are left with a young adult whose choices and decisions we no longer have much control over.
Exactly what we are intended to do.
But it's hard. Harder than you can imagine, that first time you give that little pink bicycle a gentle push and she goes sailing away, ponytail flying and wearing a smile bigger than her face.
You will smile too... and in time, these pushes will all pay off.
I watched the little girl ride by again.
And I smiled, and silently cheered for her... and for her mother down the street.
Because she's earning her freedom... but her mom had to give it away.
This piece was originally published on Moonfrye