Peter began training for the Swarthmore Fourth of July bike race around March, when the ice finally cleared and he was able to ride his bike around without fear of sliding off into the creek. Excitement grew in recent weeks as the Fourth of July grew closer and closer.
And, like most things, anticipation gave way to a bit of panic with the realization that perhaps this bike race thing meant riding alone with lots of people watching. Egads and eek!
So Peter raced with the other four-year-olds with training wheels, although it wasn't exactly racing. More like a leisurely drive down Park Avenue. The children were promised a milkshake if they were able to pass the police pole car, but that wasn't quite incentive enough for our little one.
Lucy raced too, in the tricycle event. She was literally the last one to cross the finish line that day, and her visage - tiny girl, tiny purple trike, tiny pink helmet, tiny pink doll in her tiny basket - garnered many cheers and sweet "awwwws." I'm pretty sure she was aware of and relished in the attention, and she took her sweet time crossing that finish line. After, as we were riding back to our family, she asked me "Mama, do I get a ribbon?"
We stuck around to watch the parade with our friends Colin, Quinn, and Rhys, sipping free Rotary Club lemonade and munching on parade candy. The kids had an opportunity to march in this parade* but opted to sit on the sidelines and watch. It was a wise choice, It think.
*And you did, too. It's pretty all-inclusive.
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