Mary Margo got her first "big girl" bicycle for her birthday from Dusty and I. She has been so excited about this brand new shiny purple bike...the "lil-honey". (Yes that is the name of it.)
She beamed with pride!
On Thursday, we set out to put the first few miles on the bright white tires.
Here she goes for the first of millions of trips down this sidewalk. She was so cautious and steady. She told me all the instructions the guy at the bike shop told her. *You push your pedals back to break. *If I tilt this way this wheel will catch me and if I tilt that way that wheel will catch me. These are called training wheels. *I have to be safe on my bike. *I have to park it in a safe place when I am not riding it.
Making some laps around the pavilion
She told me she was in a race and she was winning and when she dings her bell "ring ring" we, me and Dottie, are suppose to cheer for her.
She got the hang of it and eventually picked up some speed. I then challenged her to go down the hill. She did fantastic! There was a brief moment of panic but then she pushed the pedals back and stopped without falling off. I praised her for doing the right thing and not being scared. Then she took off again. This time didn't end quiet as good at the first. She got to going too fast and instead of breaking she ran it off the sidewalk and into the mulch. No falls. Yippee! She was a little shaken by the off road coarse but jumped back on and continued down her path of "big-girlhood"
We made it down another hill, across the street, and almost home. I mean oh so close to home. See the driveway behind her. Yep, that is ours. 3 more cycles of the pedals and she would have been home. Home with not a scratch on her. Not one "boo boo" until she reached the neighbors driveway. It slopes ever so slightly like most dives do as they meet the roadway. She lost her balance and she was down. Down for the count. The bicycle told her who was boss and the sidewalk bit her on the knee. And like any good sympathetic mother in this day in age of blogging and recording everything, I watched in slow motion as it happened then grabbed my camera! (Bad Mom)
We can chalk that up as the first scraped knee at the hands of the "lil-honey" purple bicycle
Big girls and 5 year olds don't cry.
They dust it off, get up, and get back on, right?
My side notes - as Mary Margo pedaled down the sidewalk for the first time I couldn't help but be her mom about it. I worried she would fall over or she would get hurt. With every twitch and sway of the training wheels my heart jumped a little inside my chest and my muscles tensed. You know, the "momma bird" instinct. You want to protect them. Keep them close.
I have been marking milestones with this child since before she was born. Since I first found out I was pregnant with her. And I will continue to because she is my first born. Everything with her is a first for her and a first for me too. With every milestone, she grows a little more, maybe gets hurt a little, and moves farther away from my safe little nest. And I grow, too, as a mother
Dottie's milestones are marked too. But they don't sting quit like the first time. One day, I will watch Dottie take her first ride down the sidewalk on the same purple "lil honey". But it won't be the same, my heart won't jump at every sway of the wheels. Maybe because I have been here before and know that she will be fine or maybe because Mary Margo will be right beside her cheering her and protecting her from the sidewalk like only a big sister can do. Who knows? Or maybe, it won't sting like the first time because, simply, I have grown.
