When we fall, this is what happens.

I ran across this little gem of a video from over a decade ago. For those of you not inclined to watch the full 30 seconds, this is what happens:

1. My brother Jeremy is holding his almost-two year old niece (my daughter).

2. My other brother, Jonny, is holding Jeremy, who is still holding his niece (my daughter).

3. Another brother, Jamey, is hanging out close by, looking cool.

4. Jonny, who is carrying Jeremy, who is carrying his niece, trips as they are walking across the parking lot on a lovely late spring afternoon.

5. I won’t spoil the ending, but: SPOILER ALERT: they survive.

So. What is the takeaway?

It is this.

If you are a parent who loves their child, you don’t want anything bad to happen to them.

But unfortunate things do happen. They will happen. And before anybody says anything about ‘how could you let your brothers do something reckless like this,’ than understand this:

I knew then, and I still know now, that they will look out for her. They will protect her. They will run hard, play hard, tease, challenge, push her to challenge herself, all that…and that if and when anything unfortunate happens, they will throw themselves in the way of danger to look out for her. I knew that then, I know it now.

We can’t protect our kids from everything. We can make good choices about teaching resilience, self-respect, confidence, the importance of saying “No!” etc. And we can also help surround them with trusted figures who may take risks sometimes that aren’t the brightest - let’s be honest, this isn’t what anyone might call a GOOD idea - but it was a bonding experience for her; fragments of an afternoon with her uncles in which she bantered and argued and wrestled and…

…knew how loved she was. And I trusted them -and trust - enough to know that most of the time, they will make good decisions. Not always altogether safe ones. But the nature of living life vibrantly is not to eliminate risk.

It is to be prepared to face it with aplomb, courage, wisdom, and to surround yourself with those who will look out for you when you fall.

Sometimes literally.