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| Cooper and Katie on Shipwreck Rock |
Life away from home offers unique insight into how independent my children really are, how much more they need to learn — and how much I have to learn, too.
They both can navigate an airport security line with ease. They can speak with adults, ask questions and advocate for themselves. They can walk into a store on their own, make wise decisions and check out without me.
There are some life skills we're still working on, though, including some I never thought to cover.
We spent a couple of days last week in a charming vacation home on the edge of Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, Colo. The owners lived at the front of the property, and they've furnished the rental home like an extension of their own.
Cooper was thrilled to find a stereo complete with a turntable and collection of albums. He wasted no time in selecting some tunes (Dean Martin, the Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel) and turning on the equipment. He quickly learned the delicate balance of placing the needle at the beginning of the first song, without allowing the needle to slide off the edge. He had no context for the flipside of an album — he's never had to turn over a CD, itself a dated medium.
Halfway through a Rolling Stones song, a snippet of words and notes repeated again and again.
"Pick up the needle, Coop. It's stuck," I told him.
Katie thought for a moment and exclaimed, "That's why people say, 'Sounds like a broken record!'"
Later that night, Katie chose a movie to watch. Most of the family's collection was on VHS. Katie held The Hunchback of Notre Damecassette as if it were a fragile antique. She looked back and forth between the VCR and the cassette, unsure of how the two should meet. I coached her through, and when the movie came on the screen, it was about halfway finished.
It was an excellent opportunity to teach the lost art of rewinding.
After some hiking and river rafting, we left Colorado Springs to join family farther west in South Fork. The rental car was packed with suitcases, bottled water and snacks. I set my navigation app to lead us to South Fork, and we hit the road.
We were about an hour into the journey when an electronic road sign warned that U.S. Route 285, the upcoming leg of our journey, was closed because of wildfires. Cellphone service was spotty, and the navigation app wouldn't respond with an alternative.
I'm no expert on Colorado roads. Those mountains get in the way of direct routes. A wise traveler in such a situation would have at least placed a printed map in the car.
I was not such a wise traveler.
Cooper was eventually able to pull up a map on his phone, study the roads and find an option other than turning around. While I continued driving, he directed me to take State Highway 9, a detour that would add almost two hours to our trip but would protect us from wildfires or an even longer route.
We're a good team, the three of us. When one of us struggles, someone else is ready to swoop in. We're independent when needed, but we're not afraid to ask for help. Not a single one of us knows everything, but we're curious and eager to learn.
A year from now, Cooper will be preparing for his freshman year in college. Four years after that, Katie will leave home, too. My continued prayer is that they will be ready to navigate on their own, that they will ask for directions when necessary and that they always feel anchored to our family team.
Tyra Damm is a Briefing columnist. She can be reached at tyradamm@gmail.com.
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| Rafting the Rio Grande |
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