I just found this picture of Brandt taken in October. It was the day he finally got the biking thing without training wheels. A classmate came for a play date, and when Brandt pulled out his bike, the friend said, "Brandt, you still have training wheels?" That was enough for Brandt to be done, for good, with the training wheels.
But Brandt remains, by nature, a bit cautious. Though young, he seems to recognize the potential for disastrous injury in all sorts of situations. Since the weather has improved, we have been outside biking, and Blythe has been keen to ride with me down the road. The "down" here is significant. The road just outside the cul-de-sac we live in slopes downward at a fairly steep angle initially. Blythe, who still rides with training wheels, and who, by nature, is somewhat fearless, likes to go down the road. Brandt, however, has not been willing to ride with us.
Last week, Blythe and I rode off, leaving Brandt in the yard because he said he didn't want to ride. However, when we were coming back up the hill, Brandt had walked down the hill towards us. It finally hit me (Duh!) that Brandt was nervous about riding down the hill and going too fast. So, I suggested that we walk the bikes down the steepest part of the hill and then Brandt could hop on and ride. That was enough. He strapped on his helmet and rode. In fact, he rode down the hill, even from the steep part. He just needed to realize that he could do it. And he could!
The three of us rode up and down the hill several times. It was a glorious mom moment for me, especially in contrast to the frequent inglorious mom moments. Watching Brandt and Blythe ride and ride brought tears to my eyes.
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