The bumps and bruises

There are two parts of me when I see my wee man fall, crash, bang or wallop into something. The first one is the mum who wants to wrap him up in cotton wool, protect him from all that is bad and the second one is the mum who wants him to be independent, feeling free to experiment with the world and then accept the consequences which may not always be joyful. Usually I settle on a happy medium where I try to gauge how bad the incident is, give him time to respond to what has happened and any amount of cuddles and kisses that are  necessary to soothe away the tears. He is generally pretty much back on his feet again in no time, right back doing what he was doing before, looking at me like "What are you worrying about?" 

This evening after bath time and getting ready for bed I could not believe the amount of bruises and scrapes the wee man had along his legs. A lot of them I could not possibly tell you where they have come from. He falls over quite often just from walking along. There are already minor tiffs in the playground as he is learning to share and play with others. He is in there with the big kids now trying to give as good as he gets. Never mind the tantrums that we are experiencing at home when suddenly he runs around like a crazy person and inevitably crashes into something. The worst incidents though are when you are right there holding his hand and he still manages to fall over or bump into something.

In all honesty though all these little things have already got me thinking about his future. Glasgow is a tough city and there are a lot of things that are probably going to be flung his way. I want him to experiment and have fun but I'm also very nervous about the decisions he is going to make. These are big worries for just now I know and I am living in the everyday now moments, breathing them in, savouring each innocent smile and lovingly wiping away the tears. But are you like me? Do you sometimes observe teenagers and adults, watch the news, even television programmes these days and think...What is my little baby going to grow up to be? and how am I going to help him get there?