I am sick in the pit of my stomach. See his new bike? See how cool it is with a handle that revs like a motocycle? See how cool he is on it?
The little guy finally decided it was time to take the training wheels off his old bike and learn to ride so he could get a new bike! He did it! It was so special that Dad took us to get the very bike he wanted! On the very same day he started riding solo!
That was yesterday. Today he rode his new bike all around. It was awesome! Until he crashed. And it wasn't just a little crash. He was riding in a seemingly perfectly safe, large, empty church parking lot when all of a sudden he rode over a curb across a sidewalk and crashed down a sloping, 12-foot rock wall. Miraculously he only had a scratch! But the trauma of a near possibly-fatal catastrophy has left us with an incredibly sick feeling. Not to mention his cool new bike is broken! The handle that revs is broken off. We are so sad. We were so excited to show his new bike and new skills to his best friend.
I am so sad to see his little hopes dashed. His special new bike is broken. He felt the worst about that. I am so grateful he wasn't hurt. It makes me sick to think of how bad it could have been. I thanked God over and over that he is ok.
I didn't scold him. I didn't lecture him. I didn't ask what he was thinking or how in the world could he ride straight for the edge like that. I believe in the school of hard knocks. Unfortunately, the crash will teach him to slow down and be careful. He didn't try to crash. He didn't want to crash. He just did. It happens to the best bike riders in the world. I didn't want to damage what little riding confidence he has.
Hopefully, I taught him how to remain calm in accident. Initially,we assessed the damage to his body as we sat there and hugged. We looked at the site and tried to remember what happened and how it happened. It was such a blur! We said how scary it was. We said how sad it is. We said how lucky we are. We talked about it over and over throughout the rest of the night, saying we can't believe it, until the shock of the close call started to wear off. We played more gently and we stayed with him a little longer at bedtime. We empathized with his feelings but also didn't blow it out of proportion. It was a bad crash, but he handled it really well.
Dad said he would buy a new bike tonight. Awww! When asked when he might ride again, the litttle guy said, "Never." We sometimes chuckle at the simplicity of this 6 year old's experience, but also I am physically ill from going through this rough experience with him. But I wouldn't have it any other way. I hope I can always be there during his tough times. Everyone has them. It's how we grow.
Love,
Alison
I am so sad to see his little hopes dashed. His special new bike is broken. He felt the worst about that. I am so grateful he wasn't hurt. It makes me sick to think of how bad it could have been. I thanked God over and over that he is ok.
I didn't scold him. I didn't lecture him. I didn't ask what he was thinking or how in the world could he ride straight for the edge like that. I believe in the school of hard knocks. Unfortunately, the crash will teach him to slow down and be careful. He didn't try to crash. He didn't want to crash. He just did. It happens to the best bike riders in the world. I didn't want to damage what little riding confidence he has.
Hopefully, I taught him how to remain calm in accident. Initially,we assessed the damage to his body as we sat there and hugged. We looked at the site and tried to remember what happened and how it happened. It was such a blur! We said how scary it was. We said how sad it is. We said how lucky we are. We talked about it over and over throughout the rest of the night, saying we can't believe it, until the shock of the close call started to wear off. We played more gently and we stayed with him a little longer at bedtime. We empathized with his feelings but also didn't blow it out of proportion. It was a bad crash, but he handled it really well.
Dad said he would buy a new bike tonight. Awww! When asked when he might ride again, the litttle guy said, "Never." We sometimes chuckle at the simplicity of this 6 year old's experience, but also I am physically ill from going through this rough experience with him. But I wouldn't have it any other way. I hope I can always be there during his tough times. Everyone has them. It's how we grow.
Love,
Alison
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