Skateboard

The other night outside of my condo building, as I took Rene on a walk to relieve herself, I noticed a little girl with a skateboard in the empty parking lot of the medical building that sits diagonal to my building. She looked about 9 years old, with long blond hair partially covered with a helmet and was wearing her leg and elbow protection pads. I had noticed her and her little sister a few days before, this girl trying out her new skateboard and her sister trying out her roller blades. I remember smiling, remembering what it was like to get a new bike or skateboard when I was a kid.

As Rene sniffed around I saw the little girl looking as though she was practicing on and off the skateboard. She cruised for a bit and then fell off after losing her balance. She took the skateboard and slammed it to the ground about 5 times screaming “No, No No!” and a final throw to the ground, as she sat on the asphalt and looked forlorn.

Then she got back up, got back on, and cruised my direction back toward her house. I gave her a smile and asked if she just got this skateboard and she said yes. I told her for a new boarder she was doing really great and to keep at it. She gave me a quizzical smile and said "thanks, I will".

Obviously this image sat with me as I am writing about it today. How many times do we watch our friends or family members falter and say nothing? How many times do we watch our loved ones struggle and tell them what they should do differently? How many times do we shame, either privately or publicly, the people in our lives if they don’t act or do what we expect them to do?

I could have told that little girl “not to be frustrated or get so angry.” I could have told her how to gain better balance. I could of told her “skateboards are for boys” (I don’t actually believe that!). Instead, I gave her a few encouraging words, and I hope they stick with her to keep on trying.

Today, let’s encourage each other. Let’s not criticize or find fault. Let’s not shame others to make ourselves feel good. Let’s wrap each other in blankets of support and love as we all embark on our own life journeys. Because, you are going to need it yourself one day. You are going to try your hand at your own skateboard and you may falter and fall, too. You are going to need your loved ones to encourage you to keep going, even though you don’t want to. And then you will ride.