The first, held my hand, gifting the confidence I needed for the adventure. The second, was the adventure that taught me how to embrace the ride. The third, was the laughter that became the soundtrack that reminds me of why I stepped onto the roller coaster to begin with, and makes me laugh at the comedy of my novice belief that confidence had anything at all to do with the adventure of parenting. Because the more I let go, throw my hands up, and yes, sometimes even scream, the more my eyes are opened to see that what a parent really needs can never be found in the false confidence of perceived control, but in the courage that comes from trusting your tiny passengers.  So at one of those turbulent parenting peaks or valleys, I came to the realization that we are all on the ride and never really the ones at the control panel and stopped being scared.  I found my courage, threw my hands up, and joined in the laugh track of my tiny co-riders I stood in line so long for, and finally started enjoying the greatest adventure of my life. Because, after all, the whole point of the ride is…well, the ride!