One of the wonderful things about our children, once they become old enough, is that they discover a style all their own - as long as we allow them the space to do so. As a mother, it is sometimes hard to prevent letting our ideas of what our children are or are not influence who they become. Many of those surprises are wonderful one, though they take some getting used to. When Ethan was younger he was a somewhat cautious kid. He still had fun, and he was no reserved, but he was not a thrill seeker either. I would have never guessed that he would be interested in mountain biking but when our team started a mountain biking component he was one of the first ones in. On Tuesdays they have practice. Since he is new to mountain biking he does not wear clip in shoes, or rather, he did not at the beginning. Then the got a bit more comfortable and started using them. Apparently he is prone to unclipping and putting his foot down often. He coach, in an effort to help him face and defeat this fear of fall, has elected to try and keep Ethan's foot on the pedal by using a zip tie to make it stay in place. This made him anxious but he still went to practice and allowed the coach to do it. The zip ties reminded him that he was pulling his foot off, but it also allowed him to remove his foot. Next week they will use industrial zip ties. I am proud of Ethan for facing this fear and pushing past it. I appreciate the fact that he can trust his coach and work on this. Once he conquers it, it will make him stronger, not just on the bike, but in general, too.
Ethan is not the only one facing up to a fear. About a week and a half ago the kids went to a day clinic on criterium racing. They had a wonderful time, until Ellie had her crash. She said it was all fun, even crashing. She was in an all out sprint when something happened and she flipped over her handlebars. Since one foot was still clipped in it flipped, too. She said it was like a slow motion movie. She knew she was going to crash. She remembers flying and flipping over the handlebars while the bike made a similar arch. Once she hit the ground she, and the bike, must have slid sideways across the pavement. She describes it as a glorious crash. The kids say it looked like gymnastics with a bike. The younger kids were upset. At the race the next day some of the younger ones did not want to race because they feared that they would crash like she did. Seeing her at the race, supporting and cheering on her team mates, they seemed to fee better, too. Wouldn't you know that the one time she has a serious crash, that I was not there? I actually think that was best. The person who was the medic on duty has two sons who are VERY serious bikers, so he knows how to deal with these kinds of injuries. When Ellie called me she was calm. I questioned her a few times when she said I should go and pick her up. She did not sound upset at all. Once I got there I found her bandaged, gauzed and looking like quiet a sight. She had a hole in her elbow that was large enough to put a small gumball in it. She had road rash on her arm, her hip, down her leg and knee and her finger. It was pretty bad. The skin had been ground off to a point of making the finger look kind of flat. She had to take it easy for a few days. She could not fully bend or straighten her arm, leg or finger. It was difficult to sleep the first few nights. By Wednesday she was ready to give it another go. Since then she had healed at an amazing rate. The hole on her elbow is no longer a hole. The road rash has turned to fresh, new pink skin and everything can both straighten, as well as bend, fully. While her fear was different than Ethan's I am still proud that she could get back onto the bike and go full speed ahead.
What wonderful, amazing children we have. :)
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