𝑫𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒏 4

Page 9

Christopher

"This is easy" Story shrieked paddling her bike with a big wide smile across her face.

She began to paddle in circles around me on her bright red bike. "Alright now let me take off the training wheels"

Her feet abruptly stopped and so did her smile. She lifted her head up to look at me with her mothers eyes. "Come on Story, don't you wanna learn how to ride the bike like a big girl" I asked before squatting down to the bike.

I began taking off the training wheels as she watched. "Dad I don't want to ride the bike anymore" she whined.

"Why not" I asked looking up at her.

"I don't want to fall in front of all of these people" she said looking at the people at the park.

"Hey look at me" I said bringing her attention to me.

"Who cares what they think, they don't know you. Don't ever be afraid of what people think. You are my daughter, you will always be amazing to me. Who cares what they think?" She nodded her head.

"And don't you ever be afraid to fail. If you fail and fall Story I want you to get back up. That's what we do when we fail, we never stop trying. Sometimes it's good to fail, so next time you know what to do to get it right. Failing leads to success Story. What do you think mommy does when she fails?"

I watched as she shrugged her shoulders. "She gets back up and does it again! She learns from her mistakes and does it better. Are you afraid to fail?"

Story shook her head no with slight smile on her face. I got up just enough to kiss her cheek. She smiled even harder looking away as her cheeks grew red. "We're winners in this family Story. Your gonna ride this bike like a winner before we leave this park, right?"

"Right!" I was so proud of her I raised my hand out. Story slapped my hand giving me a hard high five. I began to chuckle as her little hand left a sting.

The night before I stayed up watching bike learning videos on YouTube. "Alright Story so your going to sit up it's all about balance" I stood up giving her space.

"Always look forward, you have to watch where your going at all times. And don't forget your brakes. Your brakes will save you if you feel like your about to fall, ok" I said placing my hand on her helmet. "You got this"

"Ok dad! I'm ready!" I gave her a little push before she began to paddle.

She started off slow taking her time as paddled each foot. Story was paddling without the training wheels for a good while making feel like a proud dad. "There you go Story" I shouted.

I guess I should've stayed quite because she turned around to look at me with a bright smile. "Look forward!" I yelled watching her lose balance.

Her smile turned into a frown as her eyes widened out of fear. My feet picked up as I ran towards her watching the bike slant. Story went down with the bike on her side into the grass.

I got down picking her up by the one arm with my free hand on her back. She held her face as if she was about to cry. "Are you hurt" I asked her.

"A little bit" she said holding her head down.

I pulled her into a hug. "Your lucky you fell in the grass, no scratches" I began to rub her back. "Are you ready to go again" I asked in an enthusiastic tone.