Up and Out.

I wondered how it was going to feel after experiencing the best week ever—having gone pro, turning twelve, visiting the Tony Hawk headquarters, and being in a music video. I found out really quickly that everything would return to normal and Sandler would go about his day annoying his sister, asking me unexpected questions, skateboarding endlessly, and slamming into the cement relentlessly only to pop back up and try again.

Though it took me a bit longer to come down after having a week filled with such highs, I too found myself grounded quickly after unpacking Sandler’s bag that he had prepared to move out of the house with. I am not sure if it was the fact that his ego was a little inflated succeeding the events or if it was pure exhaustion, but he was adamant that life with me and his sister was not up to his standards. He was going to move out and find a new family.

I did my best to keep a straight face as he threw his temper tantrum. He called me annoying and mean as well as listing off other moms who he was certain would allow him to do as he pleased and skate until 10:00 PM. After ranting for several minutes, he disappeared and came back from his room with a recyclable bag holding three socks, one flip flop, as many Tech Deck toys as he could fit, and a candy bar. As prepared as he was for his departure, I had to let him down and explain that he was stuck with us as his family.

It took him a little while to come to terms with the fact that he was not going to be moving into a new household, but once he came to grips he asked the only question I am never surprised to hear, “Mommy, can I go skateboarding?”

Suddenly, I was not the “Wicked Mom of the West,” but was the mom with the means of transportation to his sanctuary. Not to reward his episode or bad behavior, but to change our surroundings to a public place so that we could both get a little space between one another; I obliged.

As soon as we arrived, he skated off to his favorite cement bowl to mix things up. His coach had forewarned me that as he progresses rapidly, he is going to become more frustrated and more determined to land difficult new tricks. Both could not be more true. As Sandler approached his run, he had the pure look of determination on his face and went for it. After slamming an uncountable amount of times he finally got it. The crowd went wild and he ran over to give me a ginormous, celebratory hug. It was then that I realized, it was almost as if he had punished himself by smacking the cement over and over again, and then apologized by doing the trick perfectly to make sure he made me proud. Little does he know, I was proud of him for including a snack in his moving bag.

- Nikki