The Tipping Point

One of the really cool things about having kids is giving them new experiences. Like the first time they taste ice cream, their first time trick or treating, or the first time they visit the zoo and see an alien-like animal like a giraffe or camel. I love this. I live for this.


As your kids get older, the new experiences get more physically strenuous. Spending a whole day at the zoo (“Can I have a piggy-back ride?), driving 10 hours to Colorado (“Are we there yet?”), or hiking a hiking trail (“You mean we have to hike BACK?”).

One of the fun things I did recently with Alex was a local midnight bike ride. First off, I was proud of him for staying up so late. Shit, the ride didn’t even START until midnight. It was 6 miles of bike riding on basically neighborhood streets. His goal was ‘to not stop’ and to his credit, he didn’t. But his pace was carmelized-sugar slooooooow. It was seriously hard to ride slow enough to not lose him. Granted, his 20” wheel bike is not helping matters.

Youngest son Chris is a ball of energy…until he’s not. He’s quite like me: run, Run, RUN…drop. We did a whopping 1-mile Fun Run at the Zoo. Super-fun place to run, by the way. He pushed his way to the starting line and freaking SPRINTED the first 100 yards of the run. Then stopped. “Let’s walk, Mom”. So much for pacing yourself.

So, back to the title of this post… the tipping point. The tipping point for this Mom is when my kids can keep up with me. And shit, anyone who knows me knows I’m no rock star athlete. But I do like to challenge myself and I do get frustrated when I’m ready to go balls-out….and I have to slow down and wait for a short person.

I believe (fear?) that a tipping point is coming soon. Alex is truly becoming a very good athlete, especially swimming and running. Very soon we might be at the point where he can keep up with me. Or is it “ I can keep up with him”? Either way, I’m excited about this point. But I’m also a bit fearful. Because soon after (too soon after, I’m sure), there will come a time when I can’t keep up with him. That will make me proud. And sad. And (gulp) old.