But nothing happens every time I try

I remember vividly the day I first learned how to ride a bike. It was a slightly chilly late October day in California, and I was in sixth grade. (Yes, sixth, shut up, this is my story!) You may be asking yourself, "Why didn't she learn how to ride a bike previous to the NOT SO SHOCKINGLY LATE IN LIFE sixth grade?" It's very simple. I had roller skates. In the eighties, that was all I felt like I needed. Seriously, I never had a real desire to learn how to ride a bike, it seemed needlessly complicated when I could just strap the wheels on my feet and go. Back to the October day. It was a Sunday and I was bored out of my mind. Sundays my mom would take naps and my dad would watch football, and we were basically not allowed to talk. I didn't have any friends within walking distance at that house, so I thought to myself, 'You know what? I think I'm going to learn how to ride a bike.' I went into the backyard and got the bike out of the garage. My parents had given it to me MANY Christmases ago in the hopes that I would learn to use it. The day had finally come. I walked the bike to the street (Our driveway went to an alley. Too scary.) kicked my leg over the side and stood upright for a second before breathing a 'here goes nothing' sigh and nudging the kickstand into the point of no return position. I wobbled for a bit, the bike teetering precariously this way and that until I found my balance and started to pedal. I started slow then gradually increased the speed. Like I said, it was a late October day. Our house was near the high school, and I like to think it was a surly teenager that left pumpkin bits on our street. I gleefully made figure eights around the orange slime for an hour before walking the bike back to the garage, chest held high. (note, it was only a few months after that that I felt confident enough to do something stupid on the bike and broke my arm. It's how I roll. And crash.)

So yeah, today was kinda like that. Warmer, yes, and there were no pumpkin bits to speak of, but Brianna is going through the 'I don't want/need to learn how to ride my bike' phase. Leigha and I were going around her while Jason walked her down the block. No, she didn't learn today, and she's five so it's age appropriate that she can't yet (again, shut up.) but I couldn't help but think back to that day. Later tonight I was at my school helping with the musical (crew week starts NOW!) and when we got out I skipped to my car, rolled down the windows and blasted 'Defying Gravity' from Wicked. I left the windows down while doing seventy miles an hour down the highway and singing along at the top of my lungs. It's kinda like that.