The True Adventures of Little Kathy – Fighting Fear

At 4, Little Kathy was almost never afraid. Like a very young child who is too young to know if one is clothed or naked,  Little Kathy did not know the difference between fear and fun. 

From a very early age, Little Kathy loved to run and jump, and she ran and jumped everywhere, even though she wore metal leg braces from the time she could walk until she was more than 4.

Her legs were a bit bowed, you see, and the doctor thought it best that Little Kathy wear braces on her legs.

Truth to tell, she did not always keep those horrid things on her legs, but even when she wore the braces, Little Kathy ran, jumped and climbed the monkey bars as well as any other child.

On sunny afternoons, Little Kathy loved to wait for Father. 5 p.m. would soon come, and Little Kathy would see Father spill out of the University with a big smile on his face and open arms.

Mother would drive Little Kathy to the University, where Little Kathy would play on the monkey bars until Father walked out the front door, drop his big old brown leather briefcase, and run with open arms to greet Little Kathy.

Little Kathy ran on the cool green grass toward Father, stumbling and falling, stumbling and falling and getting up again. She lived for the thrill of seeing Father again. 

Wearing leg braces for crooked legs did not seem to slow Little Kathy one bit. Truth to tell, she was like a puppy that  hops on three legs when the fourth leg is injured, hopping as if nothing had happened.

For Little Kathy, it was the same with her. She didn't know that leg braces were a hindrance, and so, she never felt hindered.  Like the puppy, the little critter who didn't know any different, Little Kathy was simply herself, the best way to be, she later learned.

 
God gave Little Kathy the sense to keep running. And that is what she did.

Father put together a swing set in the backyard. Sure, Father and Mother loved Little Kathy very much.

But Little Kathy was still waiting for sisters to arrive, and, by the looks of things, these sisters wouldn't be arriving any time soon.

So, in putting together this wondrous amusement for Little Kathy,  Father and Mother really had their own interests at heart, too, you know, as  Little Kathy, could be a tad pesky, as you might have guessed, by now.

After the leg braces were off her legs permanently  - Little Kathy's legs being not as bowed as before but perhaps not perfect, Little Kathy loved to sit on top of the parallel bars, then drop upside down and hang, swinging back and forth until she decided to jump down.

From the bars, it was not far to the ground, but nobody told Little Kathy she should bend her knees when she fell to the ground, and so, she would jump with a jarring thud to her spine and brains, a feeling she loved.

Little girls can be so strange sometimes.

It was around this time that Little Kathy's Uncle was living with Mother, Father, and Little Kathy while he was in college. Little Kathy was born on the very day that Uncle turned 16, so Uncle and Little Kathy forever became each other's favorite relatives.

Uncle often had time to swing Little Kathy in the swingset. Uncle had blonde hair, a big smile, and a kindly laugh.  He told Little Kathy that she had to bend her knees when she jumped so the ground wouldn't shake her brains.

Little Kathy said she rather enjoyed shaking her brains, said it made the earth wobbly and that she was always glad when it stopped being wobbly,  that it gave her a different outlook on the world.

Uncle smiled but shook his head.

During all this time, Little Kathy began to grow up. During the end of the time that Uncle was living with Little Kathy and her family, Little Kathy was afraid of only one thing: Riding her big bicycle without training wheels. She was no longer 4, but much, much older.

Old enough to ride a bicycle.  Probably about 8.

Uncle said he would help Little Kathy learn how to ride her bicycle. Little Kathy was not so sure. But Uncle was.

Trust me. I will be there with you all the way, Uncle said.

Just look straight ahead as you are riding, and I will hold on to the back of your bike.  I don't want you to look back,  I want you to trust me, Uncle said.

So Little Kathy mounted the big bicycle she'd been riding for two years on training wheels and felt her uncle's hands squarely on the back of the seat.

Everything was steady. Little Kathy felt safe.

Uncle gave a slight push, Little Kathy pedaled and she rode the long block to the end. 

Little Kathy did not look back. Not even once.  She could feel Uncle's hands still on the back of the bike. Little Kathy knew Uncle was there for her, just as he said he would be.

At the end of the street, Little Kathy turned around. Uncle did say she could turn around when she reached the end of the street.

Little Kathy turned around and Uncle was there: At the beginning of the street, where she had started.

So Little Kathy had done it all by herself.

Yes, Uncle had been with her the whole way. But Little Kathy rode that all the way.

So Little Kathy knew that she'd fought fear and won, and that she'd never feel fear again, for she'd always have Uncle by her side.

And that is how Little Kathy understood the power of belief.

***

Previous:

The True Adventures of Little Kathy - Of Pets, Chewing Gum and Imaginary Friends

The True Adventures of Little Kathy - Moving up, Moving Out

The True Adventures of Little Kathy: Going to Grandma's

The True Adventures of Little Kathy: Doctors Orders

The True Adventures of Little Kathy: Kindergarten or Bust.

The True Adventures of Little Kathy - of China, a teaset and a baby squirrel

The True Adventures of Little Kathy - of Treehouses, Apple Trees and Selling Apples

The True Adventures of Little Kathy - In Which Kathy Makes Breakfast

 The True Adventures of Little Kathy - In Which Kathy Proves She was a SCAMP

Hi, My Name is Kathy, and --