Emily slung her heavy book bag over one shoulder and slid her lunch bag over her other wrist. With both hands, she grabbed her bike out of the bike rack and then straddled her legs over the seat. With both feet on the ground on either side of the bike, she tiptoed slowly toward the crosswalk. The warm sun beat down on her forehead and the uneven weight of her bags made it difficult for her to keep the bike balanced. She came to a corner and the bike toppled to the side bringing Emily and her bags down under it to the grassy ground. A lump swelled in her throat and red embarrassment crept over her freckled face. Just as tears were about to well up in her eyes an older girl, probably an eighth-grader, came to her rescue. “Here, let me help you.” She pulled Emily and her bike up. Then she helped put her lunch bag into her book bag and slid both straps over Emily’s shoulders. “There, that should work better for you!” The sweet Samaritan continued on and Emily felt renewed and ready to try it again. She swept a strand of her chestnut brown hair out of her face, swung one foot over the bike and sat her little bottom on the seat. With her feet barely touching the ground, she inched her way towards the crosswalk that seemed miles away.
From across the street, Elizabeth arrived breathless and anxious. She planned on arriving about ten minutes earlier to help Emily get her bike and bags across the street. In her mind, she had imagined leaving the house and running, while pushing Emily’s brothers in the jogger, to the school in time to meet her. Like many times, the plans had not worked out as she imagined them and Elizabeth arrived to see Emily struggling to walk with her bike to the crossing. Her heart tugged at her and she wanted to fly over the street and save Emily from her plight. When Elizabeth brought Emily’s bike to her school earlier that day, Emily’s eyes lit up and she jumped up and down with excitement, “Yay! I get to ride my bike all the way home from school! Mama, can I just do it all by myself and meet you at home?” Elizabeth chuckled at Emily’s enthusiasm and self-confidence. “How about if I meet you across the street this first time and we’ll see how it goes?” “Well,” said Emily a little dejected but still eager, “ok, but I want to do it all by myself!”
Now, Emily’s confidence had vanished and she only looked hot, tired and very bothered. Elizabeth wanted her daughter to learn to do this on her own but also knew it was time to step in and offer a little help. She crossed the street and met Emily with a gentle hug. “It’s ok, honey, you’re doing a great job!” “No, I’m not,” Emily pouted. Elizabeth took a deep breath and took Emily’s bags for her and grabbed hold of her bike and instructed Emily to stand with both feet on one side of the bike. “Now, take the handle bars and walk next to the bike while steering it in the right direction.”
Emily did as her mom instructed and was able to walk to the crosswalk without her or the bike falling again. Once across the street, she was free to get on her bike and ride it the rest of the way home. Elizabeth stuck her book bag into the bottom of the jogger and started walking. She looked back expecting to see Emily ready to go but instead saw her struggling now to get on her bike. Emily had been getting on her bike and riding it all by herself for a short time now so she didn’t expect this part to be hard for her. Elizabeth bit her lip, said a quick prayer asking Mary to guide her, and calmly asked Emily what the problem was. “I’m stuck,” she pouted again. Then, with tears welling up in her eyes, “I shouldn’t have asked you to let me ride my bike home.” Elizabeth patted Emily’s back and rubbed her arms reassuringly. “Emily, it’s ok. You’ve been doing this for a while now and you can do it. You’re just a little hot and tired and probably hungry.” Elizabeth reached into the bottom of the jogger and pulled out a banana and handed it to Emily. She scarfed down the sweet fruit and the color returned to her face and her eyes dried up and she looked alive again. She got back on her bike and tried it again but still fumbled and the pedals kept hitting and scraping the back of her leg. She let out a big exasperated sigh and started crying all over again.
Elizabeth was trying to be patient but was also getting hot and hungry herself and could hear the boys getting impatient with each other in the jogger. She knew Emily could do this and was only tired and frustrated that it wasn’t working the way she wanted it to. Elizabeth was very familiar with experiences like this in her own life and realized that Emily also had to learn this lesson for herself. Since the day she was born seven years ago, probably even before that, Emily had always wanted to do things by herself and it rarely was the way Elizabeth originally intended. When she was a baby, Elizabeth tried to get Emily to sleep on her own but Emily had her own ideas about when, where, and how she would sleep. Eventually, Elizabeth learned to let go of her own ideas and let Emily guide her. As she got older, Emily eventually figured out how to sleep well and she was a true delight. She obeyed Elizabeth fairly well and usually even did so without putting up much of a fight. Even so, Emily was always adding her own creative flair to every project her and Elizabeth worked on together. Elizabeth had learned to bite her tongue and hold her hands behind her back so that Emily’s unique personality and ideas could dance freely. At times this was very difficult and she knew it would be a continual lesson in hers and Emily’s relationship.
Elizabeth looked at Emily struggling with her bike and decided it was time to get her back on track. “Emily, I know you are frustrated about this. You’re thinking about it too hard. I’ll give you a little push and then I’m sure you’ll get it after that. So, are you ready to try this again?” Her daughter wiped her eyes and took another deep breath and replied with a little waver in her voice “Ok, I’m ready.” After a few attempts, Emily was finally able to get on her bike and get it moving on her own. Once she got going, her confidence returned and she rode on ahead of her mom and brothers. The wind whizzed through her hair and cooled her from the warm sun’s rays. She came to an intersection and slowed down and then stopped to wait for her mom and brothers to catch up before crossing. She turned and looked back at her mom with a bright smile and waved, “Come on, mama! Let’s go!”
