Helpful Friends

Robby is a happy little boy because, after a month of being away, his friend Rowan is home from vacation. Seeing the two friends run towards each other to reunite in the middle of the street was charming. After exchanging high fives, the pair went running into the woods as if no time had passed. The friends spent the afternoon running through the yards, playing with Nerf guns, and shooting hickory nuts from the tree house with their sling shots.

With Rowan and her brother returning from Iowa, we are finally able to make progress towards our summer goal. Until now, Robby has not mastered riding a two wheel bike. He still relies on his training wheels causing him embarrassment and avoids riding his bike around the neighborhood for fear of being teased. After talking with him, we decided that we would work on bike riding this summer.

Our first few attempts resulted in nothing but tears, a few scrapes and disappointment. Worried about falling and breaking his legs, Robby insisted that I hold onto the bike as he pedaled. I agreed to his request. After all, I remember my mom holding onto my bike as I learned to ride. I figured that it worked for me to master the bike, so I might as well keep the tradition going.

My mom taught me to ride by running alongside me while I learned to balance. I simply cannot run fast enough to match Robby's pedaling. As soon as he gains speed, my legs become tangled up and we both end up falling. After sharing an ice cream cone and a tube of Neosporin, Robby and I decided that I am not the best person to teach him to ride. Since Scott isn't any more swift running than I, we began to brainstorm our options.

We quickly concluded that Rowan's older brother Nathan would be the ideal person to help with this project. Not only is Nathan strong and fast, but he already has Robby's admiration and trust. We spoke with Nathan and his parents, and they all agreed with our plan. He came down yesterday for Robby's first lesson.

Instead of feeling inadequate that I could not physically do something, I was proud that we had come up with a solution. As Robby gets older, I'm realizing that I may not always be able to help by participation.  Hopefully he'll be wheeling down the street, unassisted, by the end of the week.  Wish him luck!