Yesterday afternoon I joined Kaleigh and TJ in the middle of a super heroes movie. It was about the teenage kids of aging super heroes--a coming of age in a super-strength, heroic kind of setting. As we watched the teens navigate their atypical powers and typical teen-relational pitfalls, I offered Kaleigh and TJ tidbits of wisdom.

Always Fall Forward.

"What?" TJ asked. "What do you mean, 'fall forward?'"
"Well, when you fall--and you will, learn from your mistakes. If you do that you'll stand up a bit further forward than where you were when you fell." I smiled at my vast wisdom. Kaleigh smiled too and commented, "you think you are so clever, Mom."

A bit later I added this, "You'll never know what you've got inside until you are tested."

I said this in response to the moment the teen hero was falling through space when suddenly he realized he could fly! TJ smiled. Kaleigh rolled her eyes.

But it's true! Hang on to these thoughts. FALL FORWARD! And, "You'll never know what you have inside until you are tested."