For many parents, the first independent thing their child does is full of a mixture of joy and sadness. But this last Saturday, as Sarah showed a great aptitude of independence, all I felt was shock.
Sarah turned 7 about three weeks ago.Shortly after that I realized, in a moment of fleeting clarity, that she was 7 and I still had training wheels on her bike! This was a shocking revelation as my boys' training wheels came off when they were 5. So at that exact moment, I turned to my daughter and declared, "Now, that you are 7 we need to get those training wheels off your bike!" She smiled her sweet little smile at me and we went about our day. I quickly forgot the exchange.
When my mom stopped by on Saturday, Sarah was outside in the driveway with a screwdriver, a wrench and her bike. She had already managed to get one training wheel off. My mom walked up to her and calmly asked what she was doing.
Her reply- "I'm 7 and I don't need these anymore!"
Instead of waiting for an adult to help, she gathered her own tools and made quick work of the mechanics of her training wheels. I was flabbergasted! And then I remembered the short conversation we had before Christmas about her training wheels.
I have learned my lesson. Sarah remembers everything and will take her destiny in her own hands if she needs to.
And in case you are wondering. Yes, she can ride her bike without training wheels. Unfortunately, she did fall down after about 15 minutes of riding and then decided that she needed to wait until she was 9 to get back on her bike. - sigh -
