{Behind the Scenes} Pedaling through life

I told her about riding my bike with my friends through out neighborhood. It was the way I transported myself from one place to another. Throughout our horseshoe-shaped neighborhood, I peddled up and down hills, into friends’ driveways, and back home again. I still have the scar on my knee from when flipped and crashed down the hill on Cardinal Drive. Upon that 10-speed bike, I dreamed of what was to come next and how I would get there.

Riding bikes reminds me to be free. As a kid, that bike of mine helped me explore wide open spaces and foster relationships that mattered. Independence and confidence came as I pedaled and coasted before nightfall came and us neighborhood kids traded our bike rides for games of flashlight tag.

It’s hard to explain all of that to a 6-year-old girl who was hesitant to pedal on her own. But, like mommas do, I knew she’d love the freedom that would come when she decided she wanted to learn to ride a bike. 

And let me tell you, when my girl decides something she’s all in. Greg worked with her some on Saturday {when I took this picture}. She didn’t ride on her own that day, but she conquered her fear, which, really, was the biggest obstacle.

As I cooked in the kitchen that morning, I thought about how she’s so much like me. She’s hesitant of change and has to get herself to be the place of embracing it. But once she’s there, she’s committed and eager.

Last night I came home from a meeting to news from Greg that our girl had rode her bike by her self. Cate was still awake when I went to check on her, so she jumped {literally} in her bed and told me about it. Even Ben told me about it this morning. His excitement about his sister’s accomplishment was genuine.

I hope her first solo pedals were only the beginning to so much adventure before her. I hope for friends and place to inspire her like my neighborhood bike rides did me. And I hope she realizes sooner than I did that trying new things and changes that come naturally with life are worth embracing.

Oh, and totally unlike me, she rode her bike for the first time in a dress and sparkly flats.