Every so often, I fall prey to the pointless competitive thinking IE "All her friends are doing ______, she should be doing _______ as well." So two years ago I bought her a top of the line bicycle and safety helmet, and over the past two years, except for brief visits, that bike has sat in our storage room, gathering dust and losing the air in its tires.
For this long Summer vacation, I had created a list of goals and day trips for the months of July and August, and at the top of that list is learning how to ride her bike, and learning how to swim. Yesterday we took the bike out for the first time, filled the tires with air and tried riding, just enough to give her a taste but not enough to traumatize her.
Since before she was born, in the womb itself, Raphaela has consistently shown me that she does everything at her own pace and when she is absolutely ready; there is no point in pushing her before she reaches that emotional place of readiness.
Today, Day Two of the great bicycle agenda, I witnessed an amazing substantial leap in her progress. Not only did she pedal on her own, she mastered the art of breaking and even started making some complicated turns, all on her own.
For me the best part of this exercise was seeing that electricity in her eyes and her feeling of confidence grow right in front of me. At this pace, I will have to buy my own bicycle so we can ride together. (I of course have not been on a bike in 20 years, and that frightens me, though they say it comes back to you almost immediately.)
As far as the swimming lessons, that will take place in August, when her current camp finishes. I may even return to swimming myself, to that time before she was born when I was swimming laps/running/lifting weights four to five time per week.
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