Skate Board

Madeleine's skate board arrives - "no fear" it says - and Eitan, who initially poo-poo'd the idea gets involved and there is nearly bloodshed. Madeleine has worked hard for her prize - word spelling every morning for the past two months. Our block offers a limited grade so tomorrow it is Richmond Park, since I am solo with the Shakespeares. Around the same age I had a "banana board" made of cheap see-through plastic. It was pretty bunk and I never got beyond the 20 foot walkway in the backyard. Go-carts more interesting anyway. So, now as a parent I am trying to let go and not worry about the wheels. Nor am I concerned with the statistics: in the US, the Academy of Pediatrics reports, 50,000 emergency department visits and 1,500 hospitalizations among children and adolescents are skateboard related. Yeah, I am not worried. Eitan took a few knocks getting on two wheels and Madeleine battered and bruised herself from the roller blades so why not another injury contraption? This all part of being a kid; all part of the growing up.