A Mom on the Moon

I don't know what it is about watching your baby take his first steps that gives a parent such a rush of excitement and pride. After months of waiting and sweet coaxing, our boy is finally mobile. And I am a mom on the moon.

As our son was approaching 16 months old, he was at the tail end of the usual age range that babies start walking. But, he was too busy "driving" his cars and trucks, pronouncing the word "tractor" flawlessly, and throwing a ball like a 5 year old to care.

For weeks, I asked him multiple times a day, "Will, are you STANDING?"
He would flash his toothy grin at me with great pride. "Yeh! Yeh!" He clapped his hands.

"That is soooooooo good!" Do you want to walk today?"
He would smile at me angelically, with just a hint of mischief in his bright eyes, and slowly shake his head, singing, "Nooooo."

So, one morning recently when I asked him, "Do you want to take a step?" I expected his usual negative response. I think he thought this was actually a game. And he was winning, clearly.

"Go ahead. You can do it," I coaxed him from 5 feet away.

"Ma-ma," he said softly, as his little bare feet took their first couple of wobbly steps across his foam play mat in my direction. He fell on his tush and said, "Boom."

I could not believe my eyes. "You WALKED! You WALKED!" I swooped him up into a bear hug and cheered and hollered for his daddy to come see. I danced around the living room with him, laughing.

I was so ecstatic I could have popped open a bottle of champagne, yelled to all of my neighbors to come witness this vision. I debated calling the local news stations where I used to work. ("Yes, I have breaking news! My baby just took his first steps! Send a news crew immediately! And get the chopper up for aerial views!")

My husband ran in and grabbed the video camera and Will took step 1, step 2, "Boom." He clapped his hands and grinned. And he was right back up on his feet. Step 1, step 2, "Boom!" I'm sure watching his mommy and daddy lose their minds cheering probably didn't help his concentration much. But it was a milestone to be celebrated, and that we did.

The moment I saw my baby take his first steps, I wondered about all of the places that his feet would take him throughout his life. I hoped that he would always be safe and surrounded by as much love and joy as he was in that moment. And I felt with great certainty that when he went step, step, "boom," he would always get back up again.