Ride On

Last year Lenna and Andrew asked for new bikes for Christmas. Since they rarely rode the ones they had, I was hesitant to buy anything new. Especially since they both insisted on using training wheels.

Finally, I relented and made them a deal. Ditch the training wheels before Christmas, and I will get you new bikes for Christmas. Well, time marched on and the wheels stayed on, so Santa filled his bag with other surprises.

Christmas Eve day arrived and stayed long and longer. They needed to burn off some energy so they would be able to get to sleep that night, so I took them to the park to ride their bikes for a while. Apparently, that is a weird thing to do on Christmas Eve because our car was the only on e in the parking lot!

However, before I left I took off their training wheels, hid them in the shed, and threw their bikes in the trunk. When they saw their bikes, they mounted a wonderful protest. Hopefully Santa wasn't watching too closely.

After much resistance, Andrew bravely mounted his bike and wobbled off down the sidewalk. He never looked back, slowed down, or crashed. Maybe because I hadn't showed him the brakes yet?




Lenna was more cautious and insisted on a few laps around the car before she tackled the sidewalk hill. Finally, I was tired of holding her up. I turned her down the hill, gave her a push, and let go. And then she rode. All alone, down the hill, without stopping, slowing down, or crashing.




After several laps around the track their little legs were tired enough to take a break. I was a very proud mom! On the way home, I was feeling very proud of myself for finally getting the training wheels off and teaching them (ok, I just pushed and watched them) to ride.


Unfortunately, Lenna called out from the back seat, "Hey, it's not Christmas yet! Mom, can we go get new bikes on the way home?" Sadly, and to my relief, all the bike stores were closed for Christmas and it was too late to get a message to Santa that close to Christmas so the bikes had to wait.


I guess I should be careful what deals I make, huh?