A few years ago, a friend and I went rollerblading down a nice paved path while each pushing a child in a stroller. I was amazed when her stroller caught the edge of the pathway and she flipped over her child. That wasn't the amazing part though. What was truly inspiring was that, as she was soaring through the air while gaining impressive height and twisting like an Olympic diver, she shoved her hand under her baby's face (covering her in leaves and dirt) to shield her from the pavement. Her baby made it through the ordeal scared to death, but completely unharmed. Ever since then, I have worried if I had the kind of instincts that would take. Usually I ponder over this as I cringe while my children fall off their bikes and then I go dust them off. Preventative measures have just never seemed to be my forte. It was really interesting then, when I got to see my instincts get put to the test last week.
My son had been just dying to ride a horse and I finally found a friend that had one (but didn't have a saddle). So, we headed over there (my children clad in bike helmets just in case) Of course, once faced by this enormous beast they became a wee bit more hesitant, as in refusing point blank to even come near her. She was actually a smaller horse, but when you are six and four any horse is colossal. Anyway, I rode her around bareback for a little bit, which gave them a little more courage. My princess whimpered the entire four feet she rode on Duchess and then our gallant little knight was ready. At first he was a little miffed that he couldn't run with her and do it by himself, but the reality of being that high sobered and humbled him a little and he was content. After his turn, he ran around to play, whipping his helmet off and stuffing it in the car. I hopped up on Duchess and asked which kid wanted to come up with me. My daughter was content to feed the horse, but my brave boy agreed to join me. She was such a gentle horse that I figured he could hop up in front of me without his helmet. After a nice ride around the yard, Duchess suddenly came to a stop. I nudged her gently with my heels, but also noticed my son had a death-grip on her mane, which couldn't have been comfortable. The horse apparently agreed with my summation, as she shook us off right then. After I hit the ground--ow--I realized that I actually did have maternal instincts. While falling those five short feet, I had grabbed my son to my stomach while rolling over so my back would hit. The beautiful part too was that with my other hand I had supported his head (which prevented a concussion, but unfortunately not whiplash). Though we now have extensive chiropractic bills for our free horse ride, it has brought me a lot of peace of mind to know that my instincts are in good working order.
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