Monday, August 12, 2013

His Own Way




Last spring Reece was gifted a bicycle from my parents. He was excited to move up from his tricycle to a "big boy" bike, training wheels and all. Shortly after receiving it he was out riding with my dad and had a little fall, not a bad one, but enough to shake his confidence. The rest of the summer was spent on his scooter with a little bit of time here and there on his tricycle. I would ask occasionally if he wanted to ride his "red" bike, the answer was always, "not today."

This spring, once the snow had cleared, Reece was back on his scooter and also spending time on his tricycle. Again, I asked occasionally if he wanted to ride his red bike, but I was still met with "not today."

Throughout the summer the scooter has seen the most use and he as moved up from a three wheeled scooter to a two wheeled scooter. He has been happy flying up and down our walkway or the bike path on his scooter. Then last week he switched focus, he wanted to ride the red bike. He has been riding it up and down the walkway, on the bike path and on our quiet country roads.

Friday night Justin brought out his bike after dinner and the two of them rode up the road together while I walked behind with the dog. Upon arriving home I heard a little voice say, "can we take the extra wheels off?" I was already making my way into the house and continued to do so, not wanting to put too much pressure on him. Inside I could hear the chatter as Justin took the training wheels off. Then the call "don't let go". I watched quietly from a window as pure joy swept across his face.

I waited patiently for him to call, and finally after thirty minutes he came running inside asking me to come and watch.

There are no words to describe this moment. His pride shining through. His smile filling his face. I stood watching, in silence, wiping away a few tears and then ran over and gave him a high five. He was beaming, and so was I.

This little man of mine is growing up. I watch as each day he wakes up a little more confident and independent than the day before. He is testing himself, trying out new things and succeeding. Succeeding in his own way and in his own time, no pressure from me, or Justin. Instead we sit back and watch his journey unfold, walking with him, holding his hand when he wants us to and letting go when he wants to move ahead on his own.

Reece is carving out his own path in this world and I am so very happy and grateful to be along for the ride.

22 comments:

  1. Even I feel a burst of pride reading this! Yippie!! :)

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    1. Thanks KC. It has been a pretty amazing weekend around here :)

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  2. Look at that smile, he is beaming- you go Reece!

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    1. It was amazing, you should have seen his smile, it was just so darn beautiful.

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  3. I'm smiling too Kim, how wonderful for Reece. Learning to ride a bike is a big step in growing up. I can't wait to see what he accomplishes next.

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  4. Oh, this is so exciting, Kim! You can see his joy and pride just leaping out of those photos. So wonderful! :)

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  5. yippie! this moment must have been so nourishing for all of you! I must say I don't know if I would have had your patience... what a wonderful opportunity you gave him to decide alone when he feels it OK to ride!

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  6. Wonderful post Kim. What a beautiful moment for all of you and YAY for Reece and his empowering accomplishment!

    As someone who was raised by very loving but very, ahem, "involved" parents it has been quite a learning curve for me to teach myself to be a quiet observer as a parent until they invite me in. But when they do something on their own and overflow with joy in themselves, there is nothing like it!

    What a awesome gift you are giving him! <3

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    1. Thank you! It was a very beautiful moment, one I have been reliving for days.

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  7. So exciting for him! He must be so proud of himself!

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  8. He knew when it was time and how great you waited for him to know. Congrats on another milestone :)

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  9. So exciting to see him blazing his own path, in his own time.
    And wonderful to see how waiting for his own timing made it all come together so "quickly" without pressure! Love!

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    1. Thanks Dawn. When they are ready, there is no stopping them :)

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  10. Way to go Reece! Love the look of pure joy on his face in these pictures, Kim! Wan't it amazing to see this all happen?! We are such lucky mamas to get to live the lives we do and give our littles the gift of doing things in their own time. It's been such a joy to be there every step of the way and I couldn't imagine life any other way! xo

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    1. Thanks Shel. It was totally amazing and I am so grateful to spend my days with him and have the confidence and trust to let things unfold in his own time. Such a gift for both of us.

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