We bought a tug-a-bug. This is my idea of subtly introducing two-wheeled bicycling to my children. Ian is terrified of riding without training wheels. Most boys his age have been riding independently for a while. He would like to ride his bike to school - just once - and doing so with training wheels is going to open him up to ridicule. Ainsley, of course, is afraid of anything Ian is hesitant to try. It's a package deal.
We hooked the tug-a-bug to Steve's bike, and Ainsley and I went for a spin. She took to it immediately. "Wooooo-hoooooo!" she yelled as we glided through the 'hood. Her main concern was stopping at regular intervals so she could take a sip from her water bottle, for which she had personally chosen a shiny silver bottle mount. After an hour of riding in the noontime sun, we headed home. Words fell from her lips the entire ride. I ignored many of them, but the ones that made me laugh the most were, "Mom, this has been the ride of my life!"
At 5:00 it was Ian's turn. Homework was finished and Ritalin was kicking in - it's a great time of day for a bike ride. He was excited and hesitant, but he mounted the seat and said, "Let's ride!" He moaned nervously as we rounded our first corner.
"Just hold onto the handlebars, Ian, and you'll do fine. Pedal! Pedal! We're going up a hill. I need your help!" I shouted. I could hear his grunts of effort. He wasn't going to let me down. We took the next left turn, and then another.
"Ian, you know what? You're riding without training wheels! Isn't that cool?"
He thought for a moment. "Yeah, that's really cool! This is the ride of my life!"
Huh? Deja vous.
"Mine, too, sweetie."
2 comments:
deja vu?
Yes, deja vu - to hear both kids say the exact same thing about riding their bike, and on the same day.
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