In the blink of an eye!

It’s a week since term ended for my pre schooler.
Now he can’t wait to run outside and play, to ask questions about everything under the sun and to challenge my authority.

It's amazing how much he has grown over the last 5 months.
When he first joined his class, he could hardly write his name, now, it’s a breeze.
He used to throw heavy tantrums when asked to color a picture or do anything on a piece of paper - his life literally fell apart; he was stressed and feverish to say the least. I was frustrated too; I worried that he would be that kid who was always blank in class.
Horror stories flooded my mind and the little hope of grooming a genius crept out the window.
Ms Dee said, give him time. He has a lot to adjust to; the kids in his class are a little ahead on things, he has recently moved to a new school, he is in a new home – cut him some slack.
I begun to yield to that although the strict, matter of fact, you’ve got to learn by force streak kept rearing its head.
As I loosened my grip and put pressure aside, I noticed a beautiful change.
He was happier to skip along to school, talked about his friends when he came home, loved his teacher and so much more.
He makes me beam from ear to ear and my heart swells with pride.
It’s the little things he does and says, the evidence that he listens to me even though he finds it hard to obey immediately – (we all struggle with obedience anyway).

I wish I had a recorder on the ready for when he makes his interesting statements and shares his thoughts.
On our way to church;
“I can’t believe I’m going to be a big brother. That means I will be looking after my brothers and sisters. But my bicycle is getting real small.
Mummy, we need to pray quickly for them to come”.
Sam happened to mention that a friend of his was starting his own firm and Mich interjects “You mean he is going to buy his own cows?”
Or when he asks questions like “How much does an ant weigh?
“We are Jesus’ little ants and Jesus never kills little ants”
Then he asks “Mummy, how many ants are there in the world?”
At times he is too excited about ants – must be summer.
“Mummy, why are cars painted one color?”
“Mummy, how does Jesus give you your punishment?”
“Mummy, why do you close your eyes when you’re praying?”
I got all wise and said – “so that I don’t get distracted and it helps me to concentrate”
Mich – “yeah and also you get to see the angels”

Mich can now ride a two wheeler!
I didn't see this coming and I have been watching, well at least I thought I was.
So one day he says he would like to have his training wheels removed, I’m thinking “no way, you still got some more practicing to do”. Then Sam glimpsed him riding a friend’s bike, a bigger bike, without training wheels! but just like good old Thomas, I needed to see to believe.
We removed his training wheels and viola! He rode off like he had been at it for the last 20 years. "In the blink of an eye!” – this growing thing is crazy, it happens way too fast.
Good for him! I learned to ride on a big squeaky ‘hero’ bicycle when I was about 11. I fell countless times and my coach – Simon, who also happened to be my brother wasn’t much help, especially when he saw me riding right into bushes at a terrific speed and the metal thing we called a bicycle had no brakes. He said that was the way to learn.

Any way, now Mich can survive among the village boys in Ochapa without a problem, I’m sure they will teach him how to dig his heels into the dust in case the bicycle has no brakes.