There is glory in a great mistake.
—Nathalia Crane
Once there was a big girl who liked to play with little kids and their toys. One day she rode one of their small bikes and her foot slipped off the little pedal and her leg got caught and dragged along the sidewalk.
She went home, limping and howling. Her mother put ice on the terrible scrape. The next day, the girl's mother told her she was too big for the little kids' toys. The girl looked up defiantly and said, "I can TOO ride that baby bike."
The girl's mother didn't say anything else. She knew people must be free to make mistakes. We cannot protect another person from the experiences of the world. It would be harmful to both of us to try.
What mistakes have I made more than once before I learned my lesson? 
This reading is from
Today's Gift: Daily Meditations for Families ©1985, 1991 by Hazelden Foundation, posted on the "Thought for the Day" page at the Hazelden/Betty Ford Foundation web site. Additional daily readings can be found here:
Thought for the Day | Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation.