On Tuesday it was pretty nice outside, although I hadn’t realized it until Abby came in my office to ask me to take the training wheels off of her bike.
The question was phrased something like, “We need the things to take the wheels off my bike.” “A wrench?” I asked. We went for the toolbox.
Outside, Nana was looking over Abby’s bike, which was laying in the yard. I figured I could take a little time and do a little dad work, so I got down with the wrench and pliers and removed the bolts that held on the training wheels. I took the removed wheels into the garage and set them near the pair from her old bike. She was never ready to ride the last bike without training wheels, even though I followed her around, holding on to the seat.
Abby was sitting on the bike at the top of the driveway and was kicking off to coast down toward the road. I wasn’t too surprised to see her coast, feet off the pedals, all the way to the end. She put her feet down to stop, then walked the bike back to the top of the driveway.
On her second trip, she put her feet on the pedals, and when she got to the end of the driveway, she made a big loop, turned around and came back. She even navigated the narrow space between the two cars. With no help.
Shortly afterward, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself riding Abby’s scooter, chasing Riley in one of the electric Jeeps, chasing Abby on her bike headed toward the cul de sac. We spent a couple of hours just riding around, and every time she drove by, she would say, “Daddy this is so. Much. Fun.”
Today was Abby’s 8th birthday, which we helped her celebrate by bringing soft pretzels in for her 2nd grade class, and holding an ice cream buffet party for the kids in our neighborhood. It seems like Abby had a really great day, and although today’s date stands out on the calendar, I’m looking forward to every milestone we can share, both little and big.
