He just thought these were the funniest things, and they did help cover his bruise.
Family time - Part of our family time is often just taking a stroll around the community, the boys love it and often run out a fair amount of energy. One day, we opted for our first bicycle ride around. This was this the first time Jonah was on his bike since Arizona and still had training wheels on. We all had a fun on the winding hilly road (Thomas has a special seat on Glinda's bike). The way back home is fairly steep, and as much as we encouraged him, Jonah still had quite a time trying to get back up, and the training wheels kept slowing him down as he leaned unsteadily on his pedals. I ended up riding up next to him and grabbing his handle bars and held him along as we climbed back up the hill. While we enjoyed the time, it served as a reminder for me that Jonah needed to learn how to ride his bike without the trainers.
During Glinda's Cub Scout Pack meeting, a few days later I opted to help watch the boys and take Jonah out for some bike practice. He was happy to go. Talk about a work out, running up and down the road next to him, trying to steady him, and give him encouragement. As I wearied, he started losing enthusiasm, and it soon became too tiring and frustrating for me too. We went home with only minimal progress...
I try to spend time with all the boys, but sometimes find myself with the older boys doing big boy things (i.e. camping, pinewood derby, etc.) With this in mind, I made it my goal to give Jonah a little extra attention and continue to help him. Our next practice the following Saturday (last week), Jonah was less than anxious and had to be coaxed/bribed into riding without training wheels. He could have some computer time if he agreed to try biking without the trainers. Personally, I took this as a call to action to be more patient. It was hard work for this desk junky to be running along side and as he got frustrated I had gotten frustrated, or vice versa (visions of my mom teaching me to drive crept into my head). I vowed and prayed to continue as long as I could with full encouragement and without any nagging on my part.
Similar to the previous time, Jonah struggled at first and seemed anxious to get this over with so he could enjoy the computer games. But it was a beautiful day with a slight breeze to keep me cool, and I tried to steady him jogging along side and really build him up. I swear the extra attention started paying off and Jonah found himself more balanced and started having more fun. We were on the only flat street in the community, about 3 blocks long. Twenty minutes later, Jonah was consistently able to ride up and down the street with just a gentle hand on his back or shoulder. On our next pass, as I ran along, I removed my hand, encouraging him that he could do it. He noticed my missing hand and began to tense up and swerve around, I encouraged him to continue, and continue he did. With a renewed strength, we continued and I had to help catch him from a fall here and there, but he was soon pedaling along on his own!
After a little over 30 minutes, Jonah was really beginning to have a great time as he found this small bit of independence. I was happy, but getting tired. I offered if he wanted to head home, that he had earned his computer time...And what do you think he said? "No, I can go a little longer". Tired, I couldn't resist, I pushed myself to jog. With the extra time, he was learning how to corner and turn around. We stopped by the house to call Mom out and have Jonah show her what he could do.
(That's our house in the background)
Total 45 minutes or so, and probably a cumulative 2-3 miles, Jonah was having a blast, and I just had to call it quits (starting what has become an increased initiative to exercise more, but will leave that for another time). It was one of life's little adventures and a great experience for both him and I.
All the best from all of us-
Isaiah and Kirk working on the Pinewood Derby Car in the garage.
