Biking

He did it! Coop is now a bike pedaler! Cautious Coop wanted to make sure he was good and ready before he made it happen. On his time. What made his timing even more special is that Mark was here when it happened. I don't know if it would have happened unless Mark was home though. I have found it difficult to juggle a bike scooting toddler and a bike wobbler by myself without a partner.

Which brings me to a different topic. A sad one at that. In the wake of the recent Granite Mountain Hotshots tragedy, this week has been beyond bittersweet. Not only did Mark get to come home after only a week out on his last fire assignment, but he was home for an entire week after that. Plus, we got to celebrate a summer holiday together yesterday which is very rare. We always appreciate our time together, but this past week we cherished it even more. I can't imagine what a wreck I would have been when the news broke of the tragedy if our Hotshot wouldn't have been home to hug and hold on to.

About a month ago, I was talking to my Dad on the phone and he asked me how I was coping with the fire season thus far. I told him we had our ups and downs but we were managing just fine. I also expressed to him that I came to the realization that I am no where close to being a single parent like I have whined about being on occasion on this blog and even in conversations sometimes. I realized I sounded like a big old brat with the reference. In his wise words he answered, "ya, you're right".

I came to this realization over the past two months or so. During this time. I have learned of 2 fathers and 1 mother that have lost their lives way too young. Thus making their spouses true single parents just like that. Because I know each of these families, it made it even more real for me.

I most certainly can suck it up during fire season. The boys and I are a team and our team becomes complete once Mark is home. I'm constantly telling the boys we have to work together as a team while their Dad is gone and they too understand that we become whole again once he is back.

There are 19 families whose team is no longer complete and my heart is heavy because of that. Unlike us, they no longer get to ride out another fire season before they become whole again. For this reason alone, I will be even more grateful when our family gets to celebrate the closing of Fire Season 2013. We will cherish our time together and will honor the families that don't get to do the same.

When Cooper is a little older and we talk about when he learned how to ride his bike I hope we can explain to him how triumphant it was because of the event that took place the very same weekend. In the big picture it really does make this milestone even more triumphant.

We are so proud of Cooper and so lucky to have him on our team!

Biker from A Mendonca on Vimeo.