{Add●er ❘ noun: a person who adds goodness/joy/happiness to other people’s lives. One who does not take away, but adds.  she encouraged me when I needed it most and my life was made better because of her care for me.}

A while back, my husband and I took our son out every evening for one week and filmed him learning to ride his bike… as we helped him through it we took photo’s and video and thought it would make a great memory for him to keep… kind of hoping that later in life if things seem like they will never work out, or feel too overwhelming to get up and face, that he will be reminded of this time…
It’s so hard to fall over and over and over… there were moments when things seemed very bleak, he was tired and angry and he just didn’t want to keep going, didn’t even want to get up… but he did!  He found the courage to try again.. facing failure with uncertainty again…. he got up…. and after a while, he ‘got it’….
and things..
began…
to turn..
around.

Soon, he understood what he’d been working so hard for and he was lovin’ it!  He learned a lot more than just how to ride a  bike…*we* learned a lot too  …the importance of not just persistence & courage, but also, the will to get back up and not let frustration beat you, and maybe most importantly, we were all reminded that we need each other… we need the ‘adders’ in our lives and we need to *be* ‘adders* in each others lives.  It’s ok to lean on a friend for encouragement when you feel you can’t get up again… that’s what it’s all about, that’s the kind of people we strive to be.  Life can be hard… we need each other to get to all the good parts!

Learning to ride… from Mariah DeMarco on Vimeo
Afterwards, Mr. T made a really really good video that took him a super long time and then, something happened {we still dont know what} and it got all messed up, parts were missing and it was all out of order… Sooooo, he threw back what he could and it’s no longer in the perfect order it was before, but honestly, it is still a very sweet video.. . I am biased, but, it melts my heart and makes me all mushy inside…
I love it and I hope you do too!   … mostly though, I hope that you will take heart and be encouraged!  We all learned to ride a bike the same way, lots of falling, and lots of getting back up to try yet again.. and we did it!  Don’t miss or underestimate the strength you posses.  Don’t stay down, we are resilient!  .. and if you do need a friend… don’t be too proud to give them a call… you might be surprised at how good it feels just to know that you don’t have to go through it alone… and that
you.
are.
loved.

Enjoy your weekend!xoxoxo, Mariah