Nothing is Going to Stop Us Now...

Success makes everyone feel good. The feeling is even more intense when the success has taken a great deal of time and effort to achieve. Today Bella had a BIG success! She rode her bike totally independently.

With Bella's balance and right sided weakness issues, we knew bike riding would be a struggle. It was about two years ago that I asked her physical therapist for a time estimate, which for those of you with special needs children, know is like asking for a promise no one can really make. I knew that bike riding was one of those "rights of passages" for kids. Ask anyone when they learned how to ride a bike and most will be able to give you an exact age. I have been the mother of a special needs child long enough to know that I shouldn't try to compete on a "typical" level, yet I still yearned for her to accomplish this within a somewhat similar time line. Bike riding becomes a part of life with kids. Schools go on bike trips, friends ride bikes to the park or the store. Riding with training wheels past a certain point sets you apart and puts you in a different category. There's nothing wrong with that category, but that is a lesson most young kids haven't learned yet and it can lead to some severe teasing.

So my wishful goal for Bella to be able to bike ride by herself? The end of third grade. Yep, that's the grade she just finished. That girl just keeps on amazing me...