The Training Wheels of Gratitude

Fatigue, too much people time, and too many calendar entries in one space make me grumpier than usual.  Way past the end of a long day, we were at a local big box buying a bike for the granddaughter. We had an hour or less of daylight, laundry to do, and an early morning work appointment.

I was not in a terrible frame of mind--but I wasn't in the running for peaceful person of the year, either.

The bike was assembled, which was a very good thing.  The only preparation was removing the tags and fitting the helmet to the rider.  Her bike riding experience is pretty limited, so this might have been an exercise in frustrated futility.  She hadn't yet learned how to work the coaster brakes, so there was more than a little physical risk involved.  I envisioned a trip to the ER and some tall explaining to do to her mama.

The first few trips down the driveway were movie stunt material, but no one was injured.  The best ride was the one where she took her feet off the pedals in a panic and still somehow guided the bike through the garage and out the walk-in door, ending up against the gate of our deck uninjured and shouting, "I'm OK!  I'm OK!"  She was OK, but I was descending into not-OKness at a lightning pace.

Then it all clicked.  She got the whole brake thing.  She turned the bike and headed back down hill.  She maneuvered through the obstacle course that is half of our garage.  She stopped and started on command and had complete control of the vehicle.  I watched her grow half a year in five minutes.  It was one of those moments of a lifetime.

And I thought, "Why do I embarrass myself by complaining?  what an ungrateful fool I can be!  We are drenched in blessings at every moment.  All I want to say is thank you."

An evening that had self-induced misery etched into it was transformed into a momentary miracle.  And I was blessed enough to be present for the moment and the miracle.  It was wonderful that our granddaughter got to have this experience.  But the real miracle was that her crabby papa got to have a little conversion event.  It isn't often that we get to have a mood transmuted in minutes.  But when it happens, there's nothing better.

Sometimes it's good to go for quantity on a gratitude list.  I could certainly produce several pages right now.  But in truth, quality is just as good.  I am grateful to have my life, my heart, and my perspective changed by a little girl on sixteen inch wheels in a Hello Kitty helmet, shouting "I'm OK!  I'm OK."

Yes, sweetheart, you certainly are.  And so am I.