Fear of falling

My baby girl is almost ready to walk.

A few months ago, she suddenly started pulling herself up to standing.  Whenever she needed to sit down again, she would carefully lower herself down until her butt made contact with the floor. 

My mom remarked one day, “That is the most careful baby I’ve ever seen!”

Until now.  I mean, Charlotte is still pretty careful, but lately she’ll be standing and will momentarily forget herself, letting go of whatever she’s holding onto for support.  In the next instant, she falls hard on her butt and looks at me in surprise.  She doesn’t cry, but instead eagerly pulls herself back up to standing.

I think there’s a lesson in this for me.  I haven’t found the right words yet, but right now it goes something like this: in learning to walk, you must first get over your fear of falling.

It’s a lesson I could apply to every aspect of life: writing, cooking, exploring new places, growing older, trying a more advanced yoga class, working, selling my house, and a million other things.

I remember a few years ago I was pretty terrified of ever having children.  I was afraid that I’d be the worst mother in the world, because I’d never be able to handle the stress of worrying so much about another human being. 

But look at us now: we’re both just starting to hit our stride.  And it’s the best feeling in the world.