She stared it down. I knew what she was thinking. That bike has been lamenting her for along time now. All her friends could ride their bikes with no training wheels. All the kids at school could ride their bikes with no training wheels too. But not this little 8 year old girl. The thought of it was just downright appalling to her. Why ride without training wheels when you have training wheels? We hopped on our bikes to cruise the hood and as she peddled faster and faster I knew it was time. I knew she could do it. I knew she was ready. I looked at her daddy and he looked at me and he knew it too. As the sun began descending in the sky we decided to head for home and break out the tools. Within minutes the trainers were off and she stared her pink cruiser down.
She rode back and forth with a sweaty out of breath daddy in tow. Back and forth as I snapped photo after photo. Back and forth as it got darker and you could hear the cicada's sounding. The smell of summer filled the air and the sun beat down on us.
Back and forth she peddled and peddled until her daddy let go.
All of a sudden, our baby girl was on her own, riding her bike without even knowing it. We looked at each other as if we had succeeded. As if all the mistakes we've made as parents didn't exist.
With her daddy's loving hand and her mama's cheerleading, she did it. We did it. There were a few bumps and bruises along the way. She has not learned to break without falling over, but such is life. We will steady her bicycle for her always :)
