A Boy and His Kite

A boy flies a kite in a field.

A windy park, some extra time to kill, two people: a boy and his mom.

The mom knows one kite will be difficult; the other--not so much. She wants to give her son the easy choice, but he won’t have it. He wants the challenge.

She watches as he throws the kite up in the air and dashes away, the kite crashing to the ground again and again. 

She wants to make it better, easier, to take away the challenge, especially when he becomes frustrated and it’s just not working. 

She tries to offer suggestions.

He resists. 

She tries to give him a way out.

He refuses.

So, she continues to watch failure after failure, a knot in her stomach. She glances at her watch. Their time is almost up. What if he doesn’t succeed?

And then, suddenly, the kite is up in the air. Not for long, but just long enough that the boy has a triumphant grin on his face. He knows he can do it now. 

The failures continue, but the boy digs deep. He is relentless in his pursuit of the prize. The mother watches and shouts encouragement:

“That was so close!”

“Almost there!”

The imperceptible acknowledgement of the boy is seen in the knit brow and slight upturn to his mouth. He knew he could, but now so does his mom.

Why was she worried? She wanted to let him soar without holding him down, but her rush to give him an easy out has only hurt his confidence. 

And finally, it happens: the boy lets go of the kite and angles his run in just the right way and the challenging kite joins the easier kite, which his mom has been flying all along. 

His kite reaches the easier kite and then surpasses it. Children from the nearby park come over to admire its height.

They gaze in wonder as the boy concentrates on keeping his kite aloft. He fakes indifference, but his smile slowly creeps ever upward.

And then just as suddenly as the kite has gone up, their time is over and both kites must come down. 

Winding up the string, the mom glances at her son. Why had she wanted to give him the easy way out? 

The easy way would not have produced the triumphant smile. 

The easy way would not have shown him what he was made of, capable of; the easy way would have been easy, but not satisfying.

Boys, just like kites, soar, not when the wind is calm, but when it crashes against the sails. Challenge leads to flight, even if that challenge is preceded by failure.