Passing the Torch

As a parent, there are many opportunities to be proud of your children. Since I have been home schooling Neva for the past 4 weeks, she has given me many reasons to be proud of her with her educational advancements, but the achievements that I'm most proud of are through her own exploration and self-discovery.

Let me back up a little bit.  Neva has seen a lot of this in her day.  Actually over 10,000 miles worth, and who knows how many hours.

That's right, Neva had gotten into my purse which she wanted to hold and keep safe, and decided to photo log the events of her mother.  I can't imagine where she would have come up with such an idea.

Neva also has 4 bikes.  2 of which are outside bikes, and 2 which are inside bikes.  The inside bikes look like this:

The one Neva is riding is a pedal trike, and the one that the 30-year-old, 6 foot 2 inch tall father is riding is a 4-legged strider bike that you push with your feet.  In this epic hat and quad/tricycle race through the house, Neva's pedal power was superior to Christian's method of attempting to sit in a frog like posture and push forward with legs entirely too long for the toys original intent.  This was how she learned about pedals.

And then there are her 2 outside bikes.  The 2-wheeled Strider pedal-less bike Neva mastered at 18 months taught her balance and the need for speed.

Her other outside bike is a 2-wheeled, kids first pedal-bike which is pink with Dora the Explorer on it.  We got it second-hand from our local bike shop and it had a flat tire.  We asked Neva a few times if she wanted to ride it, but she would always go back to the Strider.

Who could blame her?  Children's bikes are heavier than adult bikes, weighing in at over 20 pounds.  over 75% of her body weight!  That would be like pedaling a motor bike without a working motor.

Then one day, we pulled out the wrench and replaced the tiny 12" tire.  Neva decided to try the Dora bike.

She hadn't told us...the bike hadn't been returned to it's typical spot among the rest before Neva grabbed it and rode off on her own.  Wobbly, slow and mindful of her feet, she took off on two wheels by herself; no push except that from her own two feet.  She was so excited, she forgot her helmet.

Easy does it, and then a little faster...

She biked around the entire block which is over 1 kilometer!  Going up a hill, she slowed down a little bit while I jogged beside her.  I could feel her confidence falling as her pedals gave more resistance.  I looked at her, eyes wide, and cheered her on with a fist pump and a huge adoring smile; I was her personal cheerleader.  That was it.  Tiny legs rushed up and down as fast as they could go, and she made it up and over that hill in a flash.  She waited for me at the bottom of the hill. I was smiling, and very pleased and Neva's face reflected the same enthusiasm.  I'm so proud.