Finally Biking and Loving it

There was a time when I thought biking would not be in my daughters future. that made me very sad. I love to bike and I invision the day when she and I can bike for miles together in the country side both of us in our own little "la la lands" with a cell phone to call daddy when we get lost.

But from day one, the odds seemed to be stacked against that dream. Age 4 I believe it was, I took her to biking trail near us with her peddle bike with training wheels. Try and try she might but she could not get that thing to stay on the path. So she proceeded to get off the bike yell at it, kick it then lift it over her head in a sort of Godzilla like fashion and throw it in the ditch. I ran up to her from the 100 m I was behind her, and got the bike out of the ditch and proceeded to lecture her on how this was not okay behavior all the while trying no to let her see me laugh, cause boy I tell ya when that bike went up in the air, she looked like a mini Jack.

The next few years biking was few and far between till last fall when I found her the above bike at a yard sale for just $13 brand new (the family was moving to England and was selling everything) . She saw it and fell in love with its aqua color and pink bubble design and she wanted to ride it bad. This time I took Jack out to help, which didn't go so well, you see the two are very alike when it comes to tempers, and by a quarter mile in I could see some definite butting of heads.

I then took over, and I did not do much better, I went into Lecture mode. Oh dear, not good... Then I resorted to "Your a Tucker and Tucker's don't give up" which then my husband whispered in my ear "actually dear she is a Huizinga" oh ya well then......ummmmm......OH I KNOW BRIBERY THAT WILL WORK. Ya low parenting point for sure, but it was hot, and my daughter loves ice-cream so I leaned down and said, Courtney if I see you trying your best and putting some real effort into this, I will get you and the family ice-cream when we are done, you pick the flavor. AND WOULDN'T YOU KNOW IT, like that she was off, and my hubby stared at me and said "WOW, you can really work magic, what did you say?" he was less than happy with the ice-cream bribe, but admitted later that it worked well.

Ever since that low parenting example day from both Jack and I , our little gal has been begging to get out bike riding whenever she has the chance, her bike is in the back of our van almost 24/7, ready for any opportunity to use it.

Oh and one more thing, that outfit she has on cost me $1.50 I LOVE YARD SALES.