He was barely four-and-a-half years old when we rescued a gently worn bike from our neighbor's trash pile. The professor polished and oiled it, patched the front tire, and we gave it to Boo with the promise of adding training wheels. Our boy was beyond thrilled with that secondhand bike, and adamant that there would be no training wheels. True to his word, just two weeks after gaining his wheels he'd taught himself how to ride with finesse.
When Boo is riding his bike he shines... He shines with the thrill of boyish adventure and with the confidence of knowing that he is doing something very well {and "very fast", I'm sure he would add}.
A few weeks ago the professor and I bought bikes for ourselves. We knew that our bike-loving little man would be excited about the purchase but we didn't anticipate the sheer delight that he would express over our new bicycles.
What I've realized is that these crazy new bikes of ours are more than just a way for us to have fun as a family, or exercise our bodies, or commute to campus, our bicycles are a way for us to enter an important part of Boo's world, a place where he shines. He loves nothing more than to share this world... his thrill and delight, his sense of adventure and confidence, his great pleasure... with us. What a gift.
We've taken to riding often on these sunny, spring afternoons. I am happy to be pedaling next to him... watching him shine.
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