Katherine, the last couple of weeks just zoomed by. So much to write about and after a beautiful Okanagan weekend it’s evening and while daddy is playing with you, I have time to write.
You are able to sit up now – you started sitting on your own just a couple days after you turned six months. Wobbly at first (and falling over more times than I can count), you were determined. Every day, you became a bit more stable. At first, playing while sitting was too much, sitting and balancing took all your concentration. Now, you are sitting confidently and playing with your toys (or crumpling up paper if it’s within your reach). This is a big milestone and we are so proud of you!
We went on our first vacation – daddy, you and I drove to Vancouver for some wonderful days of sightseeing, visiting with family and just hanging out and having fun. We experienced lots of “firsts” on this trip… your first time at a hotel, sleeping away from home, your first time in a swimming pool and of course your first time on the public transport system, skytrain and bus. Now, that was an interesting experience, and a first for your daddy and me. The really cool part about it wasn’t so much the logistics of getting on and off with a stroller (we had a couple of things to learn about that), but it was how you chose to behave. Being in a big city, people are typically not as open to connect - when we go for our evening strolls in the residential areas in Kelowna, people greet us as we walk by them; but in downtown in Vancouver on public transit, people tend to be minding their own business…. or do they? You were determined to connect with people in the city and on the skytrain and before long you had perfect strangers giggling at you, very serious looking businessmen making funny faces at you in an attempt to make you laugh and many more individuals quietly smiling as you chose to connect with them for a brief moment. It really made me think; sharing a moment of eye contact or a quiet smile with a stranger is all we need to make a connection that brightens our day. You did this instinctively – and because nobody ever taught you that you can’t.
You are teaching me that we don’t know all we can do unless we try. Often we don’t try because there is a chance that we could fail. That fear of failure can hold us back from learning new skills, making new friends and being all we can be. No matter how many times you fell over when you were learning to sit, no matter how many times that made you cry, and no matter how frustrated you were in the moment, giving up clearly never crossed your mind. My wish for you (and everyone) is that we never give up on anything that’s important to us in life and remember we can do anything, if only we try.
