Innocence / Independence

The innocence of a child is something I wish I had within me - at my young age of 42.  Today I watched as my 5 year old took her first flight that she (currently) can recall of her life, on an airplane.  She doesn’t quite recall the one she took at 14 days old.  But I do.  Let’s visit that for a moment.

 Milton & I had just begun a new journey together.  We were new parents, over 1100 miles away from home with a newborn.  We worried about a lot of things, but one of the things was the safety of our child and how she would react  to flying.  Would her ears pop and we’d have a screaming baby on board, would she be hungry and fussy with parents unable to soothe her. 

Even then her strength shown through and Mommy worried too much.  She did fine.  She slept and sucked on her pacifier.  Even the stewardess said she did lovely.  All was good and the best feeling was placing our feet on Kansas ground with our new bundle of joy.

This time, PV’s anticipation for this trip was one she could hardly contain in the days ahead of our time of departure.  She was so very excited about FLYING on an AIRPLANE!

 I assumed, which I should learn not to do, that the excitement of it all would halt…. when the plane took off.

Nope.  It didn’t.

My first clue should have been when the size of the plane did not deter her at all, but brought about more excitement! 

My second one should have been when she insisted on sitting by the window. (The image in my mind at that moment: fear of her crying when the plane takes off and us unable to change seats, and angry passengers staring at us!)

Nope. Didn’t happen!

Instead in a slightly louder than normal voice says, “WOW”!  As the plane takes off. While she is staring out the window.  (note: her mother was holding Dad’s hand, not petrified, but slightly uneasy.)  Let’ s just say, it was a proud moment not only for Daddy, but Mommy as well.

The innocence that lies within a child is something that also can encompass independence I think.  I’m proud because this small show of independence from PV will help her to move forward in life 5, 10, 25, 30 years from now.  It won’t be the same, perhaps not as strong, but it is the seed of something wonderful.  It’s the beginning of her show of independence and how she will tackle life’s adventures!

I hope she can hang on to the innocence part as well.  It’s a lovely source of life, but as we all know, the innocence of this world is less and less with each passing day.  At least I believe it to be.  So I challenge you to hold tight to the moments that bring you the sheer contentment of something as pleasurable as… a sweet smelling flower, giggles from a toddler, stories from an elderly gentleman, or hard work from a teen that has beliefs that run deep. 

I wanted to take that moment of “WOW” from my child’s lips and lock it in both hers and my memory bank.  So we could recall it, in the future, at times when she doesn’t feel so strong and independent.  Perhaps it will remain here in my mind and hers, but no one ones. 

I hope there’s more moments like that one.  Where she leads her 42 year old Mother with bravery. May my independence grow and my innocence be restored.

Thanks for stopping by,

Julie