Away We Go

Last week the Bumper got a bike, a two wheeler with training wheels. She loved it, and couldn't wait to try it out. The only trouble was that the seat was not adjusted properly, so the Bumper trotted next door and asked our neighbor Mr. Jimmy to fix it for her. Since he is the father of two grown girls about to be married, he took one look at the Bumper's big blue eyes and immediately got his toolbox. In short order the Bumper had a bike ready to ride. Just one little hitch, she did not yet know how to ride it! That is where I came in. I spent the next couple of hours pushing her up and down the neighbors driveway, since it is better paved than ours, teaching her how to pedal. It did not take long before she got the hang of it and wanted to try all by herself.

 I was not ready. I knew the day was coming, but I thought it would be a few more years. I wanted to hang on to her and keep her safe, in the end I let her go. It went fine, on the first loop, and on the second loop my heart stopped beating quite so loudly and I allowed myself to relax. Then she fell over, don't ask me how she managed that feat with training wheels on the bike, and before I could rush over to her in a panic she jumped up,brushed herself off with an "I'm okay mom!" and resumed riding.

In spite of my motherly worry I felt quite proud of the Bumper in that moment because she did not quit. She kept going until it was almost too dark to see.

I am thrilled that she is enjoying herself so much. I did, however, put my foot down and tell her she could not practice riding in the house. The rest the week we got outdoors as much as we could so she could practice riding. She can now ride up and down the neighbors driveway with ease. Our next goal is to ride over to the school yard two blocks away. At the rate she is learning I will have to start bike riding myself just to keep up! (Right now she has me running footraces with her on the bike -- not sure how much longer I can do that.)

Kim