With everything being already checked off our summer list, I decided to throw my daughter a curve ball and have her learn to ride a bike without training wheels. She eagerly obliged and didn't even know she was excited about learning, until I mentioned it.
She held onto those training wheels for security, even though I always knew she could ride without them. So me being me, I let her keep them as long as she wanted. And allowed her to be free of them when she felt she was ready to, and not a minute before. But, I would occasionally mention taking them off, just to see where she was at. Which was usually met with a great big no. But this time, she was brave and her ninja skills came through to boost her confidence enough to try it out.
So I unscrewed the support wheels and loaded the newly found "big kid" bike onto the trunk bike rack. And just like that, we were on our way to her school's parking lot to achieve this monumental milestone.
Before I could process how we would go about learning to ride sans four wheels, I took a moment to breathe in my once little girl. The memories of her wild hair blowing behind her as she completed her fifteenth lap around my dining room table on her once beloved tricycle, flooded my forefront. Now, too many years later, she stands before me straddling a two wheeled bike and ready to conquer anything.
My heart pulled into my chest...
And I knew, this is on me. This is always going to be my issue about not wanting her to age, but for her, she loves learning new things and growing. So I allowed the memories to pass through mind, one at a time, and I smiled while relieving them, even if it was just for a moment.
So, I walked over to her as she was loading up her best friend stuffed animals and dolls into her basket. Then, she continued to walk along the pavement, while straddling her bike, until she understood the balancing concept.
Within a few minutes, she was pedaling with my one hand on her seat for balance, then the next minute, she was pedaling on top speed around the empty parking lot all by herself.
She rode up to me, used her pedal breaks, dropped her bike, then jumped into my arms expressing her gratitude about her new skill.
Her smile was equivalent to Christmas morning.
And so was mine.
So I stood in that empty parking lot, with the sun beating down on me, while I watched her pedal and learn to maneuver her bike with ease. My son was riding his big wheel alongside her for support. Then, it turned into a game where she was would ride close to him and say, "come and catch me," then ride off. Which he would try for a few feet, then wander off on his own.
We continued to go back to the empty parking lot each day the weather permitted. And each day, her confidence grew.
And I loved getting the front row seat, watching her smile, as she learned to do something new.
And just like that, my 5 year old learned to ride her bike fluently on only two wheels. She's growing up quicker than I can freeze the time. And realistically, I know time will never stand still. But in my life, I am taking every opportunity I can to relish in all the details because I am aware of how quickly everything changes minute to minute.
So when I say I want to freeze time, I mean, I want to take not only a memory photo of what I'm witnessing, but I want to remember the way the air smelled, the way she felt, and the way I felt in each moment.
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