Cycling has been a significant bonding activity for our family. We spent many moments of our dating years cycling. This may sound strange - during our wedding anniversaries, I still choose to cycle alone with Papa Ed. Now on most weekends, as long as we could afford the time, we would be cycling as a family.

Cycling is not only a booster for the health but also for the mind especially when we love cycling at the park or along the beach.

And.

The kids make my day when they could eventually bid goodbye to the tricycles!  Yippee! I was jumping for joy and extremely proud when they could finally manage a BICYCLE.

This is the simple contentment of a parent. Every of our kids’ new achievement, no matter how small, is enough to bring me tremendous joy:)

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In my opinion, picking up cycling skill is A WAY to help build up kids’ perseverance and confidence.

They fell along the way BUT they got up without giving up.

They tried clumsily in the process BUT they never lost their confidence.

It seemed so difficult at first to achieve that balance BUT they remained determined.

They got new cuts and bruises BUT they shed no tears.

Instead there were much laughter along the way.

They were motivated by one goal - that is to cycle as a family, each on our individual bicycle.

Most importantly, they appreciate through the process that they can achieve their goal with hard work and determination.

This is the type of spirits that brought me pride:)

Once they master that cycling skill,there is no way to hold them back.

Steadier and faster, off they go! They learn that with practice, they got better each time.

As I watched our boys cycling ahead of us, I started to have mixed feelings.

Isn’t this similar to our kids’ growing up process?

As they grow, they  falter along the way and need us to give them the motivation or helping hand.

However, once they build up their confidence and skills, they might be better than us and before long, they are moving way ahead of us.

When they are stagnant, we can’t wait to give them a push. When they progress to0 fast, we face the reluctance of letting go.

Sad to say BUT this is the dilemma faced in parenthood.