Kaitlyn and I took another shot at the bike sans training wheels tonight. It was not her night. She's still too unstable to go on her own. As I encouraged her, I was reminded of a Chinese proverb. I've heard several variations and I don't know which one is correct. "Fall down seven times, get up eight" is the one I'll go with. Kaitlyn was so afraid that she would fall. I told her that falling is not the point. She WILL fall eventually and it WILL hurt. The important thing is that she always gets back up. Could anything be more true? Mistakes are a given. Learning from them is what builds character and makes us stronger.

After a few attempts, we ditched the bike and laid on our backs in the grass watching for planes. She insisted on laying on top of me and I made a big deal about how heavy she was and how I was in pain. The truth is, it was a beautiful thing and I wanted to stay there for days. Years from now, she'll be too cool to sit in the grass and have a staring contest with me. The days of learning to ride a bike will be replaced by nervous evenings waiting for her to return with the car. Until then, we've got cool grass on a warm summer evening. We've got goofy faces and melty popsicles. We've got each other and tons of laughter and we are oh so happy.