Sweet victory!

Mark reached a huge goal yesterday--he rode his bike up a hill without stopping! If that doesn't sound like a big deal to you, then you've never been bike riding with Mark. :-)

Six months ago, he hated his bike. It took so much energy to pedal, and the training wheels made the bike wobbly. But he wouldn't give up the trainers, until one day, tired of his complaining, I simply took them off. "Now you will ride a bike on your own," I told him, and he was certainly NOT happy about that!

We went to the park. I prepped him, saying he would fall down, everybody does the first time--he should just get up and try again. But he was ready. He climbed on the bike, and just pedaled away, across the grass, to the other side of the park! Neither of us could believe it! It was awesome. He was so proud of himself, and so confident, and I couldn't stop cheering.

So we moved on to riding in the street (which is pretty nerve-wracking!). We rode our bikes a mile to the park, around the 2-mile path, then home. On the way there's a small hill which Mark hates--he can never get enough speed to ride up the hill. He ends up walking his bike uphill, which makes him mad, and almost ruins his ride every time.

But yesterday was different. He rode his bike fast. He crossed the street, planning to walk the bike uphill, but suddenly, in a burst of energy, he went for it. He pedaled furiously, and to his surprise, reached the summit. "I made it!" he screamed, in disbelief. "I rode up the hill!"

I was elated. "You did it!" I yelled back, and we broke into crazy laughter. He was so proud of himself, and I was even more proud. It's not often you get to see someone smash their wall of fear, and boy, did that kid bust through his.

He kept going, rolling down the hill at breakneck speed. Inside the park, I pulled him over to tell him how proud I was, and what an amazing job he'd done. But he was still bubbling over, and ready to move. "Let's go!" he shouted, and took off.

He raced ahead of me the whole time, and whenever he turned around, I could see his enormous grin. It was the best feeling in the world--six months ago, he hated these rides, and now, he was a Master of...well, maybe not the Universe, but certainly of the bike path.

I love those moments, I really do. Nothing makes me happier than seeing my son so proud, so joyful, so full of life. He certainly earned this victory, and I was lucky enough to witness it.

I never heard Mark's first word, or saw his first steps, and it always bothered me. But yesterday, I saw something even better. I watched him tackle a hill no one else even knew about. I watched him conquer it, and I knew how much that meant to him. I never saw him walk as a toddler, but yesterday, for a brief moment, I saw him fly.