It amazes me the memory people have of their “Firsts”.  Ask anyone to describe their first kiss or first time drunk and they can recite back to you in vivid detail an event that most likely took place a long, long time ago.  These are events we covet, in many cases they serve as a Rite of Passage during key times in our life.

One of these notable first for many is riding a bike without training wheels.  Well I’m pleased to announce as a father, my son Alex rode his bike for the first time without training wheels this past weekend.

I had taken the training wheels off several weeks back, but the weather really hadn’t been cooperating.  So on Mother’s Day weekend we were just sitting around the house and I whispered into Alex’s ear “hey dude, wanna go try and ride your bike without training wheels?”  His eyes just about popped out of his skull and landed in his bowl of chips.  So off we went…not far behind were grandpa, grandma and mom – cameras in hand – ready to document the occasion.

I grabbed all the appropriate safety gear – helmet, knee pads & elbow pads – and prepared him to do battle with the laws of physics.  Mentally I was preparing for the worse!  To my surprise after a little push he was heading down the sidewalk on his own. The pride I felt was amazing!  I knew this would be an experience he would remember for a long long time!  The first 15-minutes were marked with the usual starts, stops and the occasional falling to the side.  Then it happened – an age old occurrence – over confidence followed by a slight loss of focus and WHAM! Or first major crash, an abrupt turn of the handle bars, body thrust forward by momentum, chest slamming into end of handle bars.  I thought to myself, “he won’t want to get back on his bike for years.”  Thankfully a quick hug from mom and dad followed by enthusiastic words of encouragement was followed by “Hey can I try that again?”

That’s my boy! Now he can tell the story of when he first rode his bike without training wheels, stared danger in the eye and said “Hey can I try that again!”