He Can Ride!!!

     There have been numerous occasions in the last 6 years when Mike and I are clearly reminded that while we have two sons, they are very different little people.  This seems like a very easy concept to grasp..."elementary, my dear Watson," but as many parents would agree, comparing your children and expecting them to be somewhat the same is an easy trap to fall into.  I remember moments after Grant was born being rather surprised as I commented to Mike, "Look at him! His nose is different than Isaac's!  They look different!"  Apparantly I had expected my babies to be little carbon copies of each other...considering I was completely aware that this baby was coming along 2 1/2 years after his big brother, and were clearly not identical twins, I have no idea why the possibility that they may look a bit different was so tough to grasp.

    Among the differences between my boys is when they have learned to ride their bikes...sans training wheels. A few days prior to his 5th birthday Isaac took all of 15 minutes to learn this skill...while I was on a quick errand to the drugstore ( His daddy promised it would take longer than that and that I wouldn't miss it...plenty of opportunities for pictures and videos, no worries! Note that I have NO pictures or videos of this milestone as he caught on so quickly, and was off and riding forevermore!)
     Contrastly, I was beginning to give up hope that Grant was ever going to learn to ride. Before you laugh and say, " Jen, EVERYONE eventually learns to ride a bike!", let me just say that this is not so, and that I have a very dear friend who could never ride a bike until after her 30th birthday! Learning as an adult was not such a fun process for her, especially as her sweet husband dubbed her "stubborn, unteachable, and a bad listener!!" This is not a fate I desired for my Grant-Boy. And yet, the struggle continued...last summer we bought a bike for him that seemed to fit him better and would be easier to learn on...Nope.  I bribed him and withheld treats all at the same time..."No more neopolitan ice cream until you can ride your bike. Then we can go right to the store and get some!" (Neopolitan ice cream is his fav, and we had recently run out.) Nope. Mike patiently coaxed and coached. Nope. Mike impatiently coaxed and coached. Nope. We tried peer pressure..."Isaiah and Cambel can ride! And Cambel isn't even in kindergarten yet!!! Don't you want to ride with them and Emily at Camp this year???"  Nope.
   But people, I present you now with proof that miracles DO exist!!! As Isaac has been enjoying riding his new road bike this past weekend, Mike's disorganization has thoroughly paid off. (Before that sounds like a dig, let me be quick to say I am just as disorganized, and I am absolutely NOT insulting my husband!) Grant asked Mike to find his training wheels so he could ride his bike too...but, Mike couldn't find those training wheels anywhere!  So, as I happily blogged and made picture slideshows Saturday, a miracle was occurring right outside... and...on Isaac's 9th birthday...Grant learned to ride his bike!  My only complaint...I missed the maiden voyage. I didn't even know it was going on!  Somehow though, after all the time and struggle, the triumph lessened the pain of missing the very first ride, and I happily took a few seconds of video of the following rides to be preserved for all time.  Way to go, Grant Evan Michael! You can Ride!!!!