Red letter day

Well, we made the self-imposed deadline...just barely. Daniel decided that Shiloh should really learn to ride a bike without training wheels before she turned seven (at the end of this month), but we didn't think it was going to happen since he leaves shortly for Iraq. He wanted to be the one to teach her. However, he had a couple of days off since he didn't attend a conference in Colorado Springs as originally planned, so he decided to give it a try and at least get her started. He ran around the block about five times yesterday, but things were not looking any more promising at the end of the session than they did at the beginning. Shiloh was discouraged. Today, he put her on her old (smaller) bike with the training wheels off, gave her a push, and off she went!!! It just "clicked." After that, Daniel didn't have to run around the block with her; he just had to watch from a distance to remind her not to run into trashcans. All in all, it's an exhilarating and sobering experience to see your firstborn taking such a huge step in life.