It’s Good to be Queen
Monday, February 1st, 2010
One of the most difficult parts about being first born is “letting go” of being the tallest, the smartest, the fastest, the most clever, and all the other ways in which we compete with those we love most to be the very best. I’m beginning to think that realizing your children are “better” at some things than you ever will be is even more challenging. Although I expect to outsmart all of my children for a long while, my eldest son, Quentin, has quickly become a much better rock-climber than I am, and my older daughter, Reiley, can already run faster than I think I ever could…but today, I bought myself some lead time with – of all things – my awesome snowboarding skills!
Note: I’m pausing so that those of you who know me can get up off the floor where you’ve been holding your gut to keep it from busting open because what I’ve just said is so funny!
My three older children are “taking snowboarding” for PE this term, and they’re all improving quickly. Yet just for today, I was more graceful than any one of them, managed to remain on my “feet” longer than they did, and spent more time on the more difficult slopes than Quentin – my biggest risk-taker. And it felt really, really good.
Granted I have more experience than even my eldest son does, follow the “easiest way down” signs religiously, and maintain reasonable speeds while carefully carving my way as much back and forth across the mountain as down it. Still…I can’t help gloating just a bit when my 12-year-old daughter tells me, “Mom, you looked really good!”
