On being 3

Sometimes 3 feels very small.

William, he who dares anyone to call him a little boy, has been known to say,

"but I can't do it. I'm just a little baby. I'm not 5. I'm 3."

It feels especially small when your Mommy and Daddy want you to jump into the air, and then plunge immediately under the water, with the promise that they will catch you.

Really? And what if you miss?

It really didn't take very long for William to convince himself that he could do it. No amount of us convincing him would have mattered. Because he had conquer that part of himself that was holding back. One of my greatest joys in parenting is watching this happen in my children. I know that it opens up doors for them into a great big world that I so want them to explore.

This day, William found the will inside himself to fight back his fear. In the span of an hour or so, he went from holding our hands when he jumped in, to this:

Every time he did, he was scared. And every time he did it, he was so pleased with himself that he beat that fear. There was a lot of joy on his little face when he came out of the water.

There was even more joy when I told him that his big brother was afraid to jump like that until he was 4. James always had to at least hold a pinky.

Well, that made William Stanley very, very happy.

And suddenly 3 seemed a whole lot bigger.

Way to go Wills! We're so proud of you.