A Balancing Act

So, a couple of my grandchildren learned to ride a bike this past week. They both seemed pretty excited about it—as we all were. It’s hard work teaching, or attempting to teach, such things. Hard on the back to be more specific. Not that I’m complaining because my part was pretty small. Others did a lot more training than I.

Before either of them had mastered the task, we were working on their skills one day and as we took a short break, I decided to take one of the bikes for a little spin. The grandkids looked at me in utter disbelief. “Grandpa knows how to ride a bike?”

“Well, yeah,” I said. “Why is that so strange?”

One of them—the youngest one, a four-year-old—answered without hesitation. “Because you’re old.” Nothing like coming right out and saying it! I could tell the other grandchild agreed but he was too nice to actually say it.

I stopped riding and told them, “Well I wasn’t always old, you know. And I learned to ride a bike when I was a kid.”

“But that was a long time ago!” The oldest one was still content to let the younger one do the talking, but both of them wore the look that said they couldn’t believe I could really ride a bike.

“It definitely was a long time ago,” I agreed.

Neither one said anything for a minute or so, then the youngest says, “And you still know how?”

“Of course I do. Did you think I’d forget?”

He nodded.

I said, “Well, that’s the thing about riding a bicycle, it’s like, well, riding a bicycle.” Figuring he’d never heard the saying, of something being compared to riding a bike, I thought I’d maybe have to explain my statement.

But before I could, the ever-philosophical four-year-old, with just a hint of disgust said, “Grandpa, riding a bicycle isn’t LIKE riding a bicycle, it IS riding a bicycle.”

“You’re right,” I told him. I again started to explain I was just using the saying to be silly and tell him what it meant.

He interrupted. “It means when I learn how to ride a bike, I won’t forget.”

Um, yeah. That. Sometimes I wonder if my grandkids really need me for anything. Well, maybe to help them learn to ride a bike, I guess. ~

Bruce A. Borders is the author of more than a dozen books, including: Inside Room 913, Over My Dead Body, The Journey, Miscarriage Of Justice, The Lana Denae Mysteries, and The Wynn Garrett Series. Available in ebook at www.amazon.com/Bruce-A.-Borders/e/B006SOLWQS and paperback on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Books-a-Million.