I went out on a bike ride the other day. My son Frederick is a complainer. Every time I try to do something fun that requires physical effort, the complaints start. My other son thinks he knows everything. He can bike better than all of us, in his mind. He misses out on important lessons thinking he already knows what he is doing.
We left the house. The loop we do is about 3 miles long. They know how to stay in formation. They have become pretty good peddlers. We started off great, but then the complaints started from my youngest. Soon after that my eldest, enveloped in his overconfidence, started playing around, thinking everything was fine. That meant that I was now in the thick of being an overstimulated mom. Between motivating Fredrick up the hills and keeping Alejandro in check, I got distracted.
In the glimpse of an eye, I crashed right into a mailbox. I took that thing right out of the ground. Thank God! I missed the three gawking neighbor kids. They stood there open-mothed as a full-grown adult took out their mailbox. Someone, somewhere out there has a doorbell ring video of this, and I appreciate them not sharing it. How do I know they have not shared it? Well, this event was so ridiculous that it would have most definitely gone viral.
My neighbor was kind and forgave the mistake. She would not even accept any compensation to help fix the now plastered mailbox. I think she felt sorry for me.
We all learned a lesson that day.
Frederick, the whole way home, was gentle and kind. He knew I was hurt and embarrassed. He knew that there was no space for complaining.
David learned to listen to me. This time it was me that got hurt. Next time it could be him.
I learned to take time. Time is an asset that we all have. We can choose how to invest it. In the desire to get the bike ride done, I did not take pause. I did not think clearly. I am naturally fast paced. I like to get things done. It takes me focused effort to slow down. My mistake.
God uses so many tools to teach us. This time it was a mailbox. Next time it might be a good friend. Keep your eyes open. Your teacher never leaves the classroom.
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