today was a great day...i got home last night after being gone for three and a half weeks and i was so happy to sleep in my own bed. this morning i was doing my favorite thing, just sitting on my front porch with my wife drinking a cup of strong black coffee watching our sons ride their scooters on our driveway and enjoying the cool minnesota air. my oldest son soren informs me that he is so ready to learn how to ride a bike with out training wheels, so i get a wrench and proceed to take the training wheels off his bike. i tell him to put on his helmet, knee and elbow pads and give him a fatherly speech about not giving up and try trying again, basically getting him ready for reality that he might not learn to ride a bike the first time. he is four years old and i tell him that some kids don't learn to ride a bike until they are five or six. my son tells me that he will have no trouble riding his "steel horse". i lower his seat and tell him to get on the bike and start to pedal. he proceeds to ride down the street like he has done it a million times, like he was just waiting for me to come home so that i could be the one to teach him. shortly after this he rides around the block and by the time we get back to our house he is trying to pop a wheely!!! who is this kid? the morning sun was shining and a cold breeze was blowing and it felt so good to be home and it felt even better to be the one to teach my son to ride a bike! this is one of those huge moments for a father, to teach your son to ride a bike is one of those things that is so simple to you but so big and exciting for your child, it is like a sixteen year old with a license tasting indepedance for the first time. then i started thinking about all of it...and i realized that it wasn't too long ago that i was holding my oldest son, the child that made me a father in the first place mind you... it wasn't too long ago that i was starring into the eyes of this fragile little child that i had never met before but was now instantly grafted into every memory i had ever had. now i am running next to him trying to keep up with him on his bike...it came so fast. it is just so beautiful to see these events in my children's lives unfold before my eyes! i am so honored! i am usually kind of a private person but this morning was too beautiful even for me to keep secret.
t.
12 comments:
that was beautiful! SO glad you could be there for it... God is good. [thank you for sharing that.]
Thanks for sharing this wonderful story...I am so glad that I finally got to meet your boys back in May so that when I hear these stories, I can picture the whole thing in my mind. Here is to a wicked fall season and all that it brings!
So I was feeding my 3 month old daughter this morning, watching her check out the fan that was drifting to a halt because I thought it was kind of cold in her room, and I was completely floored. I was watching her learn and observe. It's so interesting that I come across this tidbit that you wrote today after having that experience. I can't wait for her to grow up, but I know it will all come too soon.
Awww. Thanks for sharing that. :)
I got to attempt to try to teach Blue to ride his bike. I took the training wheels off, held the handle bars and he took off. I took about 6 steps and he stopped, put his feet down and said, "can I just do it myself".
That was it.
Wow. What a special moment! It's great how God's timing works even in children's lives. I'm sure God knew you needed that moment with Soren! Wow, God is SO good. :D
It's great that you could be there for that special moment.
The time they are little goes by too quickly. On the one hand a parent can get tired with all the energy it takes to handle the little ones, but then you always miss who they were at that moment as well. My baby is 23. It goes by so very, very quickly. Savor every moment you can... I am certain you will.
Oh, and get some of those wheelies on video. But you will have to tape it with your eyes open. That can be a hair-raising experience for a parent. LOL
--Melanie
hi tyler, i'm such a huge fan.. i've discovered your music through mat kearney's myspace, and i love the song "carry you with me". i hope you find more time very soon to write more blog entries. how has touring been so far? must be hard to be away from home for so long at a time. are you planning to embark on a solo tour soon?
this story is beyond precious.
thanks for sharing such a special moment.
seriously.
your stories brighten my life!
:]
cherylyn.
Ha this reminds me of when I learned to ride a bike without training wheels. I was eight.
Just be grateful that your son is not skillfully deprived as I am (:
Look forward to your hearing your new album! Matt Cook, TX
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