you say smile, I say cheese

I don't think I ever posted that Henry learned to ride a two-wheeler, oh, 2 months ago.  So, he has recently gotten really good mainly because we have been practicing a lot.  He can start by himself, coast, and brake without falling over.  It is a lot of fun to watch him, and he loves riding his bike.  I had mentioned to him a while ago that once he learned to ride a two-wheeler, he would be able to ride to school.  I have seen other parents walk/ ride to school with their kids, and I figured I could do it.  I actually even thought it would be easier than dragging all the kids in and out of the car.  We bought a lock and were all ready, and today was the day.  It was a brisk, overcast morning, and I loaded C & M into the double jogger, outfitted Henry with his helmet, and we were on our way.  

I had my sneakers on, anticipating I may have to do a bit of jogging to keep up.  Boy was that an understatement.  A portion of the way is downhill (which I had conveniently forgotten), and he is not very experienced with controlling the bike speed, so here I was, 7:30 in the morning after only half a cup of coffee, pushing a double jogger at full speed trying to keep up with Henry as he sails down 39th Rd. toward (the very busy) 8th Avenue.  Malcolm and Ceci are giggling wildly,  bouncing practically out of the stroller,  their hair swirling and whipping all over the place, but all I can concentrate on is keeping up with Henry and trying to figure out how I am going to get him to stop without falling and skidding 20 feet into the curb, or worse, what if he doesn't stop!  Visions of him careening onto 8th Ave. are swirl through my head.  My heart is pounding.  I'm not even huffing and puffing, I'm so frantic.  I don't even think I was breathing.

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am not a runner.  I don't believe in running.  But I was a runner this morning.  

I was shouting, "You need to brake slowly, okay?" as calmly as possible.  He caught on quickly, eased on the brakes, and stopped very well about two houses from 8th.  We then walked the bike the rest of the way down the hill.  Once we get to 8th, we have to turn left and take the sidewalk.  He is not at all experienced riding on the sidewalk, so there was a lot of getting on and off the bike which wasn't so bad because at least I didn't have to run.  I had made peace with the fact that we would be at least 10 minutes late, so I was able to be patient and encouraging.  Henry is amazing when it comes to that bike.  He DOES NOT GIVE UP.  He was like this from the beginning, the first day he ever tried to ride.  He would fall, get up, get right back on.  He cried once.  ONCE.  And he fell A LOT.  So, today, he kept getting back on, and he'd get going, and eventually he got the hang of the sidewalk bumps, which means I had to run again.  We don't cross any major streets to get to his school, but we do cross side streets, so I wanted to keep up with him.  You know people, early in the morning, drinking their coffee, changing the radio station, not at all looking at the road.  So, there I was, running again, trying to keep all terrifying thoughts at bay while I silently screamed' "What was I thinking?" in my head.  We eventually made it there safely, locked up the bike, checked him in, and walked home at a nice, peaceful pace.  

I decided he has to get the hang of the sidewalk before I attempt this again.  It would be great if I could ride my bike, but I can only put one child in the bike seat, and I have 2 to transport.  No matter what, it will be a while.

Oh, and later today, I was talking to my friend Brooke on the phone, and she says, "Guess what happened this morning? I saw this woman walking.  She had 2 kids in a double stroller and a kid on a bike, and I thought, 'Wow.  That woman is crazy.' and then I looked a little harder and realized it was you!" 

To quote a wise man (my husband), "Well, what can you do?  Some people just crazy."