New Bike Day
My 5-year-old son got a new bike last night.
Like, a big kid bike.
7 gears.
Hand brakes.
It even has a kickstand.
The weather in Minnesota had a nice turn over the weekend and we were finally able to come out of hibernation.
With two active boys, we spent a good bit of time outside — and all the wheels came out.
My 5-year-old had definitely outgrown his bike.
So, I picked the boys up from school yesterday and we headed to Scheels.
About 45 minutes later, we walked out with a shiny red Trek — and we couldn’t wait to get home to get the wheels on the ground.
Graduating to something new is a fascinating process.
We’re so excited to do it and then reality hits us.
The bike is bigger.
The pedal brake is gone.
Our feet can barely touch the ground.
“I don’t want to ride this, Dad! Can I go get my other bike?”
It’s a frustrating process, right?!
We come in with a mindset thinking that the new thing — or the next level — is going to be a breeze because everything was so easy before.
And, when it’s not, we want to go back to our comfort zone.
After a little coaching, he decided to stick it out.
We started small: “Let’s just see if you can go to the end of the block.”
Since he was on his tip toes, I helped him get going.
Once he was going, I ran along side of him as we headed toward the end of the block.
And I saw a smile emerge — he realized that he could pedal it just the same as his old bike.
We stopped at the end.
I gave him a high five.
We got going again: “Hey, why don’t you try turning the handles to change the gears.”
Another smile.
And then we tried the brake.
And then he did a turn.
And then he did a whole lap.
And, before we knew it, he was going up and down the street completely by himself for 30 minutes straight.
Some neighbors came out and as he made the turn he screamed, “I have 7 speeds on my bike.”
It’s funny that I started this blog before swim practice this morning.
Our coach introduced a new drill: paddle head.
Basically, you put a swim paddle on your forehead and try to keep it there while you swim.
Me: “I don’t want to ride this, Dad! Can I go get my other bike?”
I couldn’t do the drill — I wanted to quit.
And then I remembered my son and the value of just sticking with something new.
We’re not supposed to be good in beginning.
And that is exactly why we decided to graduate to the new process — it’s going to only help us get a little bit better.
Stick with it and be okay not being good at something.
It’s worth it in the long run.
Onward.