A-D-H-ey Let's Ride Bikes

I hope you had a Happy 4th!

My personal highlight was the "wanna-be Darwin Award nominee" who thought it'd be fun to smoke while leaning against the stack of propane tanks and intermittently light & throw firecrackers AT A GAS STATION. I was relieved to not hear any reports of a gas station going up in flames.

But I digress.

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Playing with small boys outside after dinner is interesting.

They pretty much have the attention span of an apple.

Yesterday we went outside to enjoy the outdoor sauna play a game of tag.

The game lasted all of about two minutes (which is a good thing when you have to chase a 6 and 3 year-old around while carrying a 25-pound toddler. That'll give you respect for the sport of wife carrying. <-- Look it up, it's for real.)

5 minutes later, the driveway is littered with sidewalk chalk, giant foam noodles, a bouncy ball, a basketball, 2 bikes, and a 3 year-old dressed in a Robin costume (didn't take it off all day).

And 6 minutes later, I'm chasing the basketball down the driveway to the amusement of the 18 month-old who rolled it, trying to get to a 3 year-old who's stripping naked over 2 drops of urine in his underwear, and attempting to help a 6 year-old fasten knee and elbow pads.

(Note to self, multi-tasking is not in your genes.)

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Which brings me to the most important part of today's post: bike riding.

Yep, Big Brother is strapping on his knee and elbow pads, and starting to learn how to ride a two-wheel bike.

It's a very exciting time. We've gently pushed the idea (and further pushed it by taking off the training wheels), but I was particularly proud that today Big Brother decided all by himself that he was going to work on riding his bike and it made up for the giant tantrum he threw at the dinner table.

We have a favorite book about learning to ride a bike


In this book, while learning to ride, Froggy's dad says "I won't let go", and then proceeds to let go.

I made it very clear to Big Brother that I would only let go if he wanted me to.

And he did!

And I can honestly say that I think I was more scared of letting go than he was.

But, I'm pleased to say that after I let go, Big Brother was able to push on the peddles at least once and move a little bit forward before having to use his feet to balance himself.

No ouchies! Yay!

I suspect he'll be riding well by the end of the summer.

Of course, in the spirit of the evening (and post title), within about 5 minutes of riding, Big Brother declared he was getting hot and wanted to come inside to make even more mess do something else.

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Inattention of small men aside, what a defining, symbolic moment with the bike.

So much of fatherhood was encapsulated in that one brief moment: Excitement. Fear. Pride. Trust. Hope. Having to let go. Stumbling. And picking yourself up and trying again.

Way to go Big Brother. Love you, buddy.

See you on Fatherhood Friday,
Busy-Dad-E