In my last post, I mentioned something about the emotions of little girls.  It was a complete understatement.  This past week has been an experience in how unqualified I am at being a comforter/teacher for my oldest daughter.

Butterfly turned six earlier this month and has expressed some interest in riding her bicycle without training wheels.  Going into this, I knew that Butterfly was my perfectionist, my crier, and a little ball of impatience.  These create a wonderfully volatile combination when teaching her new things. So, naturally, teaching her to ride her bicycle should be a pleasant bonding experience….right?

bicyclesBicycling lessons have not gone stellar.  Butterfly has done pretty well learning to compensate and balance a little.  Physically, she’s getting the hang of it.  Emotionally, she’s a wreck.  She cries when she wobbles.  She wants to stop trying if I have to catch her.  She’s more scared of falling than she is excited about riding.  I tried pushing her over in the grass so that she would realize that it doesn’t hurt that bad.  (For future reference, bad idea.)

I’m not impatient with her or upset that she isn’t learning at a certain speed. I just want her to be willing to give it another try without quitting or having a melt down.  And then I think back on when my dad was trying to teach me how to hit a baseball and how I reacted.  The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, but I sure hope she does better with the bicycle than I did with a baseball.