Copied from my Aimee Laine blog which will post on 6/15:
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Monday evening, as the sun burned brigh and the temperatures hovered in spot way higher than my own comfort zone, my two 7 year old daughters (with their 7 year old friend) went out to attempt the improbable. If Mom and Dad weren’t up to teaching them how to ride their bikes in 90 degree weather, then they’d darn well do it themselves.
I wished them well, sat back in my air conditioned house and waited (but without baited breath) for the screams of frustration, the scraped knees and potentially conked noggins (but they always wear helmets).
About an hour later, the downstairs door slammed, shaking the whole house. Footsteps pounded their way up the stairs and I heard,
“Mom!”
The punctuated cry out followed with,
“I did it!”
My husband’s office door opened as Emily, wide-eyed and with a huge smile on her face ran into my office.
“Mom! I did it! Kate held on—” Her arms gestured wide. “—and I was pedaling and we were on her bike and she went with me and then she let go and I did it!” Yes, all of that was in one sentence, with absolutely no punctuation or pauses.
“Wanna see?”
How could I say ‘no’ to that?
Shut the laptop down, husband puts on his shoulder, I slip into sandals and out on the driveway (which is the length of two cars and the width of two side by side and at a slight incline), my daughter and her friend are getting her started.
Of course, if she could do it there, I had to see what she could do on flat ground with more space. So, we walked the bike over to the cul de sac and Emily sat atop it without her friend hanging on and from that moment on … she rode her two-wheeler … by herself … without any help.
After a few tears and screams of frustration, Abby rode her bike around the same area, circling each other, back and forth, around and around.
From 4 training wheels, to 0 in 2 hours with the help of a friend.
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Added note:
Abby tried and tried and tried with Ron and I. We kept trying to give her guidance and she kept weaving and falling though she’d catch herself before she fell to the ground. At one point, Ron and I were talking to Emily about how she should practice using her breaks when out of the blue, Abby rides her bike straight at me!
And that was that.
They are both ‘two-wheelers’. 🙂