So there he was…paranoid yet prepared.
Helmet on.
Big toes, escorted by little piggies, on black plastic teeth.
Excitement met anxiety in his eyes...unsure of his situation
The training wheels had just been popped off.
One steadfast and supportive hand held the back of his seat.
‘Okay Now! Pedal!’
‘No-wa-oh! I’m afraid.’
‘It’s okay, I have the back of your seat. You won’t fall.’
‘Only...but if.... if I my bike starts going…fast?’
‘I will be running right beside you. See my hand. I’m right here.’
And so he began to push…
Smiling…
Escorted…
Feeling Free…
The hand fell away and he didn’t realize he had been let go.
He pushed on, in his new found freedom, pushing himself right up the hill.
In a momentary glance, he realized he was alone.
He veered.
No one was holding onto the back of the seat.
He wobbled.
No one was running beside him.
He began to cry out that he couldn’t do it.
The sense of betrayal could be heard in his voice...
Words replacing the hand that had once been at his backside
‘But you are doing it! Keep pedaling son! Keep pushing!’
And so he did.

Sometimes in life we all need a hand, if not to push us, to remind us that we are not really alone.
And sometimes in life we just need to think, feel, believe that someone has got our back in order to learn that we can do it all on our own…