The Training Wheels are Off

by Deb Lowther

I am a hands-on-stay-at-home-working-all-the-time mom of 3 daughters. These kids continue to grow and keep me on my toes. Most times as parents we mourn the passing of certain milestones as our kids get older, especially when it is your youngest! Riding a two wheeler is one of those passages into being a big kid and can be a big transition for parents as they see their kids gain new freedom.

For the 10 years that I have been a Mom, I have juggled kids, car seats, activities, schools, lunches, snacks, friends, groceries, dinner, my job, birthdays, play dates and laundry. Somehow I managed to also fit in running and time at the gym. Never easy, it was a priority, so I moved things around and squeezed it in. I took babies to gym babysitting centers, I ran in the rain, I ran to soccer games, I ran during birthday party drop offs. I moved mountains to fit in a run . . . until the day a few weeks ago that the last set of training wheels came off!

Enter Life in Pleasantville!

It has been 4 weeks since my youngest daughter learned to ride her 2 wheel bike and can I tell you, when you have 3 kids on two wheels, YOU have freedom my friend!

I have waited years for this day. Having all 3 on big kid bikes with no training wheels means no one will get stuck on the curb, no one needs to be pushed up the tiniest hill, no one is lagging behind because those small bikes have so little pedal power! I can now go running whenever I want, without calling a babysitter or bribing my friends to take a kid for an hour.

If I want to go for a run the 2 wheelers come out and we are off sisters!

The summers are always a challenge as I like to run a fair distance and the kids are all home with me. They are too old to push in a stroller and too young to be left at home alone. The two wheel freedom we have now means the kids can go for a nice long bike ride on our local pathways and Mom can knock herself out trying to keep up running behind them.

As a Mom you take your opportunities to squeeze in the things you love where you can get them, and for this running mom, I plan to give my kids loads of miles on their bikes this summer.

Who knew teaching the kids to ride a big girl bike would bring Mom the freedom to chase her dreams and do the thing she loves most!

Pleasantville Note: Deb Lowther is a mother of 3 young daughters who, when not running after the kids, is running in the trails! She blogs about Raising Healthy Kids and ensures her own have fun while eating healthy & staying active. To read more articles you can visit her websites www.iron-kids.com & www.adultgummies.com or visit her on Facebook at IronKids.Health and Adult Essentials.