The easiest way to teach a kid to ride a bike.

I’ve recently discovered the easiest way to teach a kid to ride a bike. I stumbled upon this method with my son and decided I’d repeat the procedure with my daughter. It worked beautifully in both cases.

I’ll call my method the Scooter Method.

There are two major hurdles you have to overcome when teaching your child to ride a bike: balance and confidence. Both of these are addressed with the Scooter Method, and I’d like to share.

I’m a Chicken

When I was about 4 years old Momma took us to the movies. This particular time etched itself into my child-mind like no other movie had and left me with an aversion to all horror films. Ever heard of it? Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

This was the 1978 remake version, so you can imagine the bad male-perms and feathered lady hair.  Looking back at the production pictures now, I laugh at how tacky it looked.

To be truthful, I didn’t actually watch a whole lot of it. I kept needing to go to the “bathroom”. But I clearly remember how afraid I was and how even in the comfort of the orange-tiled movie bathroom I couldn’t stop shaking.

Hairy-Vaulter Cheesecake

Art by Madison Graham

All my friends have their versions of cheesecake and they are all very delicious. I am more an acquired flavor. But if you can catch me mid-vault and push the hair to the side, I think you may be surprised.  I have layers that didn’t make themselves known until a little later in life. Not to me, anyways. My Momma will say it was there all along, but Momma is rather fond of me and she may be a bit biased. I know my writing has sure shocked the rest of my family. Writing has become very important to me, but it surely isn’t all I am.

I’ve decided to share a few highlights of my life. Maybe you will learn something about what makes me tick. If you do, will you let me know? I’ve been wading through me for years now, and I am still a bit lost.

Dairy-Free

When Keven first presented the idea of the New Authors’ Fellowship alumni starting our own separate blog, I was totally on board. And then he proposed the title. I admit, I did like it, but my first thought was, “Cheesecake? Unfair! I can’t EAT cheesecake.” (Before you ask, I’ll go ahead and answer–no, I’m not “lactose intolerant.” I have a dairy allergy. No, I won’t stop breathing or anything, but I will get a killer sinus headache.)

My response to him: “Fine, I’ll be the ‘dairy-free’ person on the blog!”

Oddly, my little joke is actually quite appropriate.