Freedom

Today we went to a park with the kids and Charlie took his bike. I chose this particular park because there is a .2 mile trail that makes a big circle. From the playground I can watch the entire loop, so my plan was to let Charlie ride around the park loop while we played with Gretchen.

Kids today don't have the freedom we had at their age. I had free range of the block at his age. I could go anywhere. In a few years I would be ranging all over the neighborhood and left to my own devices. This is unimaginable today.

I wanted to let Charlie experience that sense of freedom. It's what I loved so much about riding the bike at this age. I could do anything I wanted, as long as I was home for dinner.

As expected, Charlie reveled in this freedom. He probably did a mile - five times around. Once he understood the one ground rule - stay on the path - he was in his own world. It was fun to watch.

My wife had a different opinion. She was concerned that he was so far away from us. He's never a few steps away from us, she said. She's right, but I thought it was important to let him explore. It's tough to give them that freedom. I understand that. Maybe it's a sign of things to come.

To me, the look on his face was worth it.