One of my first memories

This picture was taken at my Nana's shortly after I was attacked by a dog.  You can notice my how swollen by eye was.  I'm not sure why I like this picture but I do.  Being attacked by our neighbors dog was one of my first memories, guess sometime those traumatic things just seem to stay in our memories.  I remember running from the dog, and trying to get over the fence, one of our neighbors had put me in their yard, which they weren't supposed to do.  I remember screaming for my mom, and then the next thing I remember was riding in the back of a car with people holding me down and trying to keep me calm.  Then the doctor's putting a sheet over my head with a hole cut in it that fit right over my eye, so they cut stitch me up.  I bet I wasn't a pretty sight.  I guess being a parent must be a pretty scary thing.  And even harder when their little ones get hurt.  I'm still trying to figure out why I love this picture so much, maybe because I loved it out at my Nana's.  Her farm was so calm and peaceful.  I also felt like someone was watching over me in the picture, not sure why though.

My mom just emailed me, she got this in her mountainwings today, thought I'd share it as well.

Learning to Run
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The two-year old likes to run.

It warms my heart when I see his funny movements as he runs.
It also scares me because young children have a tendency to fall
very easily.

I was out shopping with my sons when the two-year old started to
run.

He fell.

If you are a parent, you completely understand the phrase,
"it hurts you more than it does them."  There is something that
pains worse than physical torment to see your little one hurt.
He skinned his knee and elbow.  He cried for a few minutes and
finally with the soothing of Daddy, quieted down.

We are like my two-year old.

There are so many areas of life where we must run:
some by choice, some by the force of circumstances.
There are so many new things.
There are so many times when our steps are unsure and we are not
experienced runners.

The older I get, the more I understand how a Divine Father can
let us go through some things and fall.  I was tempted to stop
my son when I saw him run.  I knew that sooner or later, if not
that day then one day, he would fall.

I also knew that if he was to ever learn how to run, he must
fall, and often I had to watch him do it.

I fell in business several times before I was able to run.

I fell in relationships several times before I had sense enough
to stop looking for perfection and know that we all have faults.

Even your second child is reared differently from the first
because you learn some things from falling with that first one.

I fell off of my bicycle.
I fell off of my motorcycle.
I fell on skates (roller and ice).
I even choked a few times while learning to swim.

We often fall when learning to run the things of life.

Too often bruises stop us from ever trying to run again.
We are afraid that we will slip and get hurt.
We are afraid of the pain.

My son runs much better now.  I still wince when I see him run
on a hard surface but he won't stop running.

At only two, he has one of the keys of life.

He won't stop running just because he fell.

Your bruises will heal, you will get up,
and the path will still be there.

Though at times you may not think it so,
The Divine Father is still watching over you.

He just knows that he has to let you fall,
If you are ever to learn to run.