a lesson in perserverance

After dinner, Little Dude suggests "Let's go downstairs."

Littler Dude brightens for a moment, loosens his grip around my neck slightly and chimes, "Downstairs. Downstairs."

I take this as a sign that the boys may be finally getting their groove back. I head downstairs with Littler Dude still securely fastened to my torso and wait for his older bro at the bottom. Little Dude looks a little groggy ... almost drunk as he maneuvers down the stairs. I remind him to be careful. I think to myself, What could I do if he did fall? Drop Littler Dude and ...

His last 'big fall' scared the crap out of me. I take a deep breath and don't let my paranoia overcome me but I ready myself just the same.

Little Dude is talking as he nears the bottom. His nose is running. He asks for a tissue. He's on the 3rd last step and I wipe his nose with my free hand. I turn to go down the hall. He misjudges the next step and falters a little, sliding down in slow motion.

He's fine. His bum is on the 2nd last step but one hand is outstretched, still firmly gripping the banister railing. He's whimpering. He doesn't know what to do next. I drop the tissue and offer my hand to his outstretched one. He trusts me. He let's go of the railing. Then, he gets up, climbs a couple of steps to the point where he slid, turns and goes back down. Success!

We've seen this 'get back on that horse' gesture before. It's wonderful but where did he learn it?

As I'm sitting watching Little Dude play, it finally hits me.

After Littler Dude was born, we taught Little Dude how to navigate the 3 steps leading down to the garage. It didn't have a railing and had only one wall for Little Dude to use for balance. A few weeks after the first lesson, he was expertly climbing down these steps on his own. But one day, he slid down. The Good Man and I didn't swoon. We made light of his fall, brushed him off and reminded him how important it was to have one hand on the wall. The Good Man put him back at the top of the steps and Little Dude made his way down without incident. High-fives were given and off we went.

It amazes me that I had forgotten about this day. It amazes me even more that Little Dude didn't forget but, in fact, had soaked up this little lesson on perseverance. I just hope that it seeps into other aspects of his life ... beyond stairways.