New Wheels

I taught Claire how to ride her bike without training wheels on Saturday. She has been proficient with the training wheels for quite some time now. We recently raised up the training wheels and she was only relying on them when she slowed down or stopped. I couldn't believe how fast she learned how to balance herself. Seriously, I only had to run beside her 2 or 3 times until she took off without me. Of course, when she noticed that I wasn't there she crashed, but isn't that how it always goes (especially in Hallmark commercials)?

It took me forever to ride my bike. My parents bought me the coolest pink, banana seat bike (with basket accessory) for my 4th birthday. Unfortunately it was big enough for a 7 or 8 year old to ride. It is a standing joke in my family that my little sister learned how to ride her bike (size appropriate) before I did. I remember going to the bank parking lot adjacent to our house with my mom and practicing, going around in circles until both of us were dizzy and needed to go home.

I didn't think that I would be the one to teach Claire how to ride her bike. In my mind I assumed that Chris would have the responsibility, as I usually give him the tasks that require any sort of coordination. I am glad that it came down to me. I hope that Claire with remembers the event with the same sense of fondness.