Children developing courage

Children are part of life. If you are married they could be the reason to stay married, or the reason you don’t stay married. They are the picture of courage, and you should be required to have just a little bit of training just to have them. Children are creatures that start out little, wind up big, and will always be your children. Their title in life will always be “son” or “daughter” to the parents, and friends of parents. They are the life blood and the death knell. And they are loved in my house.

Saturday we went to Six Flags, Fiesta Texas in San Antonio. As we were walking up to the front entrance from the parking lot there is a roller coaster that sits just to the left of the main entrance. It is called the Goliath. I don’t know the specifications for it, but I do know that it is big and it throws people around corkscrews, and loopty loops like nobody’s business.

My son has just recently discovered the joys of roller coasters. He has never been one to go on any coaster that does a corkscrew, barrel roll, or 360 degree roll. Saturday as we were walking to the gate I looked at him and asked, “Will you ride that ride with me?”

He said that he would but he needed to warm up to it. The unfortunate thing is that after a certain time of year only part of Six Flags is actually open. There were two roller coasters open for larger kids, like me. The 2 that were in the front part of the park. You can tell that they are completely focused on increasing the bottom line. As we got through the gates I asked him again if he would go on that one with me. He again said yes, so I said “Mom, let’s go on that one right now.”

Leslea looked at me, and said “Sure!”

Braydin said “Ok, let’s go.”

My Mother had come with us so she and our eight year old daughter said that they would wait. I know that my little one does not like to wait for anybody, but she and Grandma had a good time waiting for us.

The closer we got to the front of the line, the more I could tell that my son was growing. Not physically, but inwardly. He knew how to handle the unknown. He could be nervous without being fearful. He could handle his nerves, and become more calm through using tools that he has learned over the years. When he was 7 and he was taking a bully prevention class he learned to deal with fear by “ninja breathing”. It was more like deep breathing than anything else but it calmed him then, and now.

He has learned something that is very difficult to teach, and even more difficult to learn. One thing in life will help you deal with the fear of new things more than anything else, recognize the facts about courage and fear. Courage is not the absence of fear, it is the control of fear. That knowledge goes a long way to helping you through life.