Don’t Look Back
The weather has gone from freakishly warm to freakishly cold in just one week. One week ago today, the weather was so nice that most of the neighborhood children were outside, including mine.  Boo was riding around on his new camouflage bike (what else would you buy a soldier’s son?) and Pumpkin Girl decided that she was ready to try again. Try what again, you ask? Riding without training wheels!
When I came outside with Bip, the first thing I noticed was her training wheels lying in the carport. I walked a bit further out into the yard and I saw her riding around, Philip jogging behind her, holding the back of her seat. I’m sure you know exactly what they looked like. They kept going for a while, Pumpkin Girl looking so steady that I guessed that Philip probably wasn’t even holding on. I was right. As they did another pass around the cul-de-sac I could see that it was all her, she just didn’t know it. I pretended not to notice. On their next pass I heard her tell her dad that she thought she might be ready for him to let go. He told her, “Honey, I haven’t been holding on for awhile.” The look on her face was unforgettable. As she did a victory lap all on her own, Boo and I and a few neighbor children gave her a round of applause. She beamed even brighter.
Congratulations, Pumpkin Girl on reaching another milestone. Keep on going sweetheart, and don’t look back.
Yes, that was a fun day. I am glad we had the chance to do it. You know it really is the time spent that matters. This will be another great memory that we will always have. Taking the time to teach them something new and then seeing them take off. Ironic isn’t it? We don’t want them to look back (to the training wheels) because we want them to move on but yet we will always look back. Look back and smile. Love you.