Finding her Balance

Being 6 really IS so much fun!! Blossom has been wanting to ride without training wheels for several months, now. She has tried and tried, but is very afraid of falling and getting hurt. She does NOT do blood on scraped up knees or elbows, so... fear was winning. Sunday afternoon, she said she really wished she could ride her bike and the training wheels just kept slipping and when you depend on them, if they slip you just go down! So, I took them off! I lowered the seat as low as it would go and told her to just get around by pushing her feet on the ground for a while. (Yes, I did try holding on to the back of the seat and running a bit, but she pedals so darn fast that I can't keep up! So, scoot she did!) The pedals were getting in the way, so I unscrewed them from the connection. So, she scooted around and loved it. Monday morning, with new resolve, she and Branch reattached the pedals. Blossom got on and could make her way and stay up right for about 2 or 3 go rounds of her feet. But, with some serious cheerleading, she realized that she really was riding, but putting her feet down when she got scared! So... she grit her teeth and away she went... serpentine style at first!

And then... the inevitable. A big spill.

I was worried a little about how she would react...

Her determination was so strong that she did the exactly best thing to do... If you fall off, get back on and try again!!

It was rough, all those starts and stops...

But, it wasn't long before she REALLY got it and kept going!!

Of course, once that happened... she was off and riding all over the RV park and having the greatest time. Achievement!!

And now she rides like the wind... and it has only been 18 hours since her feet went around without the training wheels!!!