"Pedal fast and steer!"

My son, who will be 6 in February, finally learned how to ride his bike WITHOUT training wheels this weekend! YAY! Maybe he's a bit of a late-bloomer when it comes to that sorta thing, but we never wanted to push him (no pun intended!) into doing it until he was ready. And often times (ok, every time), when he fell 2 or 3 times, he was done. "Bike Riding Without Training Wheels 101" was over almost as quickly as it had started. He had already given up on himself it didn't matter what we said. And that's one of the hardest things to overcome...when someone has already given up of himself, you CAN'T make them think differently. You just have to keep the door of opporunity open and the encouragement for when he is ready and willing to give it another try plentiful and abundant. My little boy didn't give up on HIMSELF this time, despite falling time after time. And he didn't give up on what he set his mind to DO this time. HE DIDN'T GIVE UP. 

Now, 'the bike' is Matt's "old bike" (which looks brand new!) but without training wheels. 'The bike' was almost dreaded and he would get so frustrated with his rare attempts to ride it sans training wheels that at times, we dreaded it too. 'The bike' sat in the garage and collected dust for almost 2 years and it was on taken out on occasion so our he could ride it with the training wheels on (or sit on it while Daddy tinkered in the garage). But without the training wheels, it became 'the bike.' Before today, when we would say, "Hey, let's go out give 'the bike' another try today!" Matt would always say, "Nah, I don't wanna" or "But Mom, there are big cracks in the sidewalk" or "But  Mom, the sidewalk bends and I don't want to hit a big tree!" And true, there are cracks in some areas of the sidewalk (their size is relative i suppose when learning to ride a bike!) and there are some big trees that we didn't want him to hit either, but I'd always say, "Well, Daddy will help you steer around them (the big trees!)" or "Daddy will help you pedal fast so you go right over the 'big cracks' on the sidewalk." Lip music to a little boy. But like I said, today was different. This time he had a sense of "Ok, let's DO this already!" and I just LOVED seeing such determination in this little guy. SUCH 
determination! 

So, he and Daddy started out as they always had: bike (check!); bike helmet (check!); lots of cheering and encouragment from the observers (check, check and triple check!); training wheels - NO WAY!! Matt had an audience of family members and neighbors (both kids and adults) observing from a distance (and some right next door!) and cheering him on as he first built up his confidence on the grass (to soften the falls, of which there were MANY!). Then they moved onto the sidewalk.  As usual, Daddy pushed, held on, helped him steer, held on some more, ran next to him, held on some more and as usual, Matt would fall as soon as Daddy let go. BUT, at one point Matt said, "Let's try it on the grass again Dad...then we can do the sidewalk. Ok Dad?" Well alrighty then. He did pretty well on the grass but as soon as he stopped pedaling, he'd fall (obviously!) going maybe 2-3 ft and mostly because of momentum! Well, after what seemed like an eternity of literal up's and down's (haha) and after thinking we'd have to call it day and try again tomorrow, Matt said "Ok let's try the sidewalk again Daddy!" Well, ok....let's DO this!

"You can DO this," I kept saying cheering to him. "I know you can DO this buddy!" Once on the sidewalk and once he got going, we all kept cheering, "Keep going! Keep pedaling buddy! You got it! Keep going! Keep going!" Well, something clicked. He GOT it. Daddy started him off like he had done 100 times before by jogging next to him and helping with the "keep pedaling, steer, STEER!" And then.....HE LET GO....and before we knew it, he was pedaling that bike, passing 1 house and then 2 and 3 houses as Daddy jogged 1/2 crouched over in case he wiped out (saving several neighbors' cars along the way!) He finally did it! He put his mind to it and didn't give up! Sure he fell about 100 times along the way before he got to that point, but he GOT it. He learned to ride that bike!  You could SEE the sense of accomplishment in his eyes - literally! He was beaming with pride and grinning from ear to ear with happiness from a job well done and an accomplishment 2 years in the making!

Maybe the difference this time was that he never really set his mind to DO it before, I don't know. But I DO know he had always given up on himself in the past when it came to "the bike." He's no quitter. He learned that today and despite feeling disappointed in his past attempts, I always knew he wasn't a quitter. It was just that the timing wasn't right. He's got such an incredibly competitive spirit, but this time it wasn't "his team" vs. "the other team." This time, it was him vs. himself. And "the bike." This weekend, he experienced what it truly means to face a challege head on and to give it all you've got, even when you fall down. You get back up. And when you fall down again, you get back up (AGAIN)! And even when the pavement is uneven and the "sidewalk has big cracks in it" and there are "big trees" in your way, then go around them and pedal faster! And steer! Who knew we could all learn a lesson from a little boy learning to ride a bike (or at the very least, be reminded of the lesson). When faced with a challenge, "go around the big trees, pedal faster so you can get over those cracks, and steer!" I'm so pround of my not-so-little guy. So incredibly proud of him. This weekend, he learned how to ride 'the bike' - - It was definitely one of my all-time favorite "atta boy" moments for me. And with 8 days left til surgery, I'll have to remind myself to 'go around the big trees,' 'pedal faster to get over those cracks' and above all else, 'remember to steer' (when I'm at the wheel - but God's driving this car...not me!)