Spoke-n Conquest
Booie learned to ride a bike today. She started yesterday, going 10-15 yards at a time by the time we left, but she couldn't start on her own. I always had to push her until she got both feet on the pedals. Today, she didn't even want help starting off the first time. After a couple of wobbly misstarts, she was off. She got the hang of starting and going, then needed some work on braking. After practicing that for a bit, she had the confidence to ride around and around the lot. She only fell once the whole time, but after a little TLC and wiping off with a Wet One, she got right back on and rode some more. She's a real bike rider now.
While she rode, Hammy skated. He took the dog for a while, and I think they took turns dragging each other. Hammy still looks far from graceful on his Rollerblades, but he gets around pretty well now. He's almost worn through the brake already. He definitely gets points for caution.
John and I stood around for the most part. He took the dog for a short exploration around some woods and down a trail. He asked if I knew that trail was up there. I laughed and said that yes, I knew about it. I ran or biked most every trail in that park while I was training for my race last year.
Maybe that's what inspired me to take a jog around the soccer field. I think I really just wanted to see how truly out of shape I was. I took the dog and started out much too fast, as usual. I slowed pretty quickly, and my lungs started to burn only halfway around. I was probably lucky to be at a 4 mph pace by the time I finished. The only thing that kept me from quitting was John witnessing it. It didn't look as far as it felt. I did it though. I'd be lucky if it was a quarter mile. How things have changed from one year ago.
I had to plop down and rest after that, but first the kids and I went over to watch some passing horses and riders. John stayed back with the yappy dog for fear her hopping and yipping would spook the horses. Booie liked the chestnut while I preferred the spotted one. They went from the grassy field to the paved street where they clopped away. Booie thought it was neat to see their shoes glinting in the dying light.
I sat back down in the lot while Booie did a few more rounds on her bike. She practiced weaving and turning, cutting it close enough to me a few times for me to stand up. Butts don't make for emergency manuevers the way feet do. The move was without purpose though as Hammy counted near 20 flawless laps. John announced Booie's last lap three times before she finally used her brakes fo rthe final time. It was starting to get dark, and we had to get home to wash off the dirt of a hard day's play.
I feel bad I didn't take Booie sooner to learn how to ride. Part of it was overprotectiveness, particularly last year after she'd been sick. Most of it was my own laziness and selfishness though. Our neighborhood isn't conducive to learning two-wheeled mastery because of the hills, and I never felt like going to the park. It's been an incredibly lazy summer for me, as can be attested by my scale. But now my duty is done, and I feel the pride every mother knows in the success of her child. I predict some family rides in the future.
One year ago
Misery Likes Being Alone - "My friends do their best to cheer me up, but what I really want is John cheering me up, and he's been particularly distant."
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One Year Ago Today:
