Freedom Ride

On September 11, 2001 I can remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when I heard of the attacks on our country.  I vividly remember a wave of fear washing over me as news kept pouring in about the horrific details of that day.  Those feelings lingered for quite some time as I wondered what our future would look like, as a nation and as a citizen.  How would the events of that terrible day erode the feeling of security and peace that I felt prior to the planes hitting the buildings?  It was an insecure time.

The years have gone by and the rawness of that day has dulled with time.  The lives lost and innocence of a nation something to be mourned and remembered.   However, the landscape of my life has only subtly changed.  

I make it a point to wear slip on shoes when I go through airport security because all shoes must be removed to take a cozy ride on a conveyor belt instead of being walked across the threshold of the security door.  

A very small price to pay.

I have to buy water in the terminal instead of carrying it through security.  The exorbitant price of H2O is not so pleasing (except for the vendor).  But still....

A very small price to pay.

Others sacrifice more while I can only send emails and offer prayers.  As my brothers have each served in Iraq and Afghanistan (Merrill is currently there), they miss birthdays, anniversaries, goodnight kisses and even births of their babies. 

A very large price to pay.  But one they do with honor, pride and dignity.

What can I do to celebrate the freedom I still enjoy that once seemed so fragile?  How can I show the bad guys that they didn't get what they came for?  

Well, I can do what I'm still blessed to be able to do......

ANYTHING I WANT!!!  (Well, within reason.  You know what I mean.)

This year on 9/11, we taught our boys to ride their bikes without training wheels.  A lifelong skill that will bring a sense of freedom, happiness, independence and plenty of Band-Aids and possible trips to the ER.  

Jay perched their trimmed down bikes on the top of a gently sloping grassy hill, whispered instructions and encouraging words in their ear and then pushed them off for their maiden voyage.

As predicted, Owen rode down the hill with his "game face" on and not a crash or a bobble to slow his descent.  Back up the hill he came for more, with only the slightest crack in his game face.....a smile.  

Also as predicted, Drew was nervous and required more detailed explanations than his younger brother.  I think Jay stopped just shy of explaining the physics of Newton's First Law, and an object's momentum and its relation to mass and velocity before he pushed Drew off to what I thought would be certain disaster.  I was pleasantly surprised when he didn't return to Jay missing all his shiny new front teeth with his bike in a twisted heap of blue metal.  As his confidence grew, so did his bike riding skills.

 

Predictable, yet again, was Kai's desire to be older than his little 2 year old self and ride a big boy bike like his brothers.  He felt so left out and embarrassed by his less than desirable transportation.

And a little bit unpredictable was the reaction of a very patient, proud and loving father who said that he felt like "a real father" for teaching a skill to his boys that will remain with them for their lifetime.  

Who was it that insisted, while I rolled my eyes, that we bring long pants for the boys to change into so that they wouldn't get scraped up knees?


A real father.


Who was it that proudly went to the store to buy new back tires to replace the worn out ones?


A real father.


Who was it that willingly gave up the ONLY day he has to tinker, relax and catch up on things so that he could instruct, encourage and cheer on his very sweaty but beaming boys?


A real father.

That is how we celebrated our freedom.  

Freedom=Sacrifice=Families=Happiness