It's just like you imagine the summer to be: long days, late nights, trips to the farmer's market, BBQ'ed food, swimming pools and sunkissed kids.
However amongst all this frivolity, Nate, at four, is undergoing a rite of passage. It's one we all went through; one we may still bear the scars from. Yes, it's the time of year where training wheels come off and the relatively flat tarmac of our street becomes witness to burning rubber and skinned knees.
This past Sunday, while Jake was sleeping off the effects of a lunchtime cheeseburger and chocolate milk, David tinkered with Nate's bike, effectively halving the wheel base:
Here's the "I'm a proud owner of a two wheeler" photo, which is also known as, "I have no idea how hard this will be, so right now I'm smiling and there's no level of panic whatsoever."
David encouraged Nate to lean from side to side to test the balance. He encouraged Nate to walk with his bike to experiment with its stability:
And then they ran up and down the street several times:
And four tries into it, Nate was riding. By himself.
Let's hope the next sessions go just as smoothly. 'Cause it's nothing like when I tried to ride a bike. At age 8. Oh yes. But let's save that embarrassment for another time.
And you? Do you remember learning to ride? Or have you been teaching your children about life on two wheels?
6 Heard through the grapevine:
I taught myself to ride by going from two training wheels to one, and then using that one as a kickstand for a while before discarding it.
Our daughter just got her first "big girl bike" this spring, so we're not quite ready to ditch the training wheels yet, but when it's time we'll probably start by raising them up a little at a time until she doesn't bounce on them and then take them off.
I still remember my father holding onto the seat as I went down the street. I was 5.
G was bugging and bugging to get rid of his training wheels so we finally did...he was weird, age 3.
That's a huge coincidence! Jessica also learned to ride her bike last week without training wheels! Must be the developmental age? See my facebook for the video :)
Nate looks very cute on his bike.
D.
I remember to this day vividly the gravel patch at the elementary schoolyard. And what my mother said.
"I'm not going through what I went through with your brother!"
point taken
WOW. Justin learned to ride at AGE 9. NINE.
Okay, I was about ten before I went for it. My kids? Two learned when they were three and my youngest? Still won't learn at NINE. She's mine for sure. :)
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