Bike Camp Part IV

I never thought this series would end up four parts, but in reality it may be five not more than six! Too wordy? Probably! But hopefully there is at least one person out there it helps!

We have arrived at Bike Camp week! Monday is here. I have Mapquested, checked times, maps, moon alignments and also oddly enough, the weather. You see my big bribe, I mean reward, for getting through 75 minutes of riding a bike non stop in circles was that he'd get to go to the Detroit Zoo afterwards. We lined that up for Monday. A risky decision as I might be letting him catch that dangling carrot on DAY 1, but we went with it. We were meeting my cousin and her boys there too. I had it all planned. Zachary came along as we were planning the big zoo day too. Excitement was high. We had lunches and snacks, Nintendo DS's for car and while Zachary is waiting. Books. Basically, it looked like we were moving to the bike camp. I have learned to have plans a, b and c ready though. This is the looking ahead at all possible scenarios that separates us from the general ed parents.

Bike camp consists of getting on these special bikes. They look "normal" from the front. But in the back there is a wide flat "wheel". This gives stability. There is no rocking back and forth like on training wheels. It gives the rider a much more stable base. Plus each child has at least one spotter. Daniel had two for part of the camp. I believe this was due to his size and weight which you had to provide ahead of time. 120#'s of boy falling over on you can take you down in a hurry. Although I never saw someone fall over. The bikes really don't allow for that. Although it's not impossible. So he had two guys on him. The parents were informed, "no parents in the gym". Gasp! We had to watch through a window. The camp was in a huge gym in a church in Bloomfield Hills. They had bikes ready for the kids via the height and weight previously mentioned. I guess experience has taught the instructors that parents are a distraction. While I totally agree with this, I was pretty bummed. We could check on them though. They just got on and RODE. Around and around and around. Then stop and switch directions (so you aren't always turning left, for example) What this does, and I'm paraphrasing so don't quote me on this, is basically training your brain. That's why they don't want them stopping to ask mom if they can stop and hang out. The more you keep going the better. Then if one kid stops they ALL stop. They obviously would let them stop for a drink if needed, but would get them RIGHT back on. Had they told me this ahead of time I never would have thought this would be possible. But he just did it. These people travel all over the country teaching our kids. So don't let me you hear you say they couldn't handle your kid you'd have to be in there. I believe they have seen it all. And you are right outside the door. Then you go home and sleep on it. This is an important step. Apparently you are still learning it as you are sleeping. I love this!! Learning something while you are sleeping? Pardon the pun, but for me, that's a dream! ahem, sorry. As Zachary likes to say, "my mom loves to sleep." He's so right!

Now when Daniel moves, he sings and or talks. So I can here him in the gym singing. Believe me. This would not be listed under the category, "singing quietly to yourself". He BELTS it out. He is moving, he's singing. It goes hand in hand. He used to do it on the swings too. It's like the motion sets something off. So he's in the gym with Troy the spotter running after him and Daniel is singing "the Monster in the Mirror" at the top of his lungs. (Think Grover from Sesame Street). Sigh. This is Troy with Daniel. These people sign up to RUN for 4 shifts, 75 minutes at a time for 5 days in a row. There is a very special place for them in heaven!

We finish up. Go to the zoo. The whole way to the zoo. DARK clouds are looming. Oh no. This never makes him happy. He is understandably concerned. We get to the zoo. I call my cousin. They are standing by the entrance. By the time we get there, it's raining. My cousin, looks at Daniel (she is a social worker by training, a domestic goddess like myself currently) and says something like Daniel lets go to my house and we'll try again tomorrow. And about as quickly as that happens the sky's parted and, saying it rained, well that would be too much of an understatement. We all turned around and RAN! Daniel was running (this does not hardly ever happen!) . He was running and screaming at the top of his lungs simultaneously. We got into the parking ramp and he let out a scream that you would for sure think someone was stabbing him. The ramp was FULL of people escaping the rain. Now all looking at us. I have LONG ago gotten over this. It used to kill me. I guess I'm not so self absorbed anymore. I calmly told him we would try again tomorrow. He calmed down. Here is the other thing I hear, "you're so lucky he calms down like that, my child wouldn't." Well, my child didn't used to either. This is from YEARS AND YEARS of saying this over and over and over and THEN FOLLOWING THROUGH and doing what I said I'd do. He finally learned he could trust me. I will not say I'm going to do something if I'm not going to. He wouldn't understand that. I don't say, "we'll for sure go tomorrow". "I say we will try again tomorrow and see what the weather is doing."Clearly by the rain that was coming down there was no way we were going in. That was a blessing probably. If it had be drizzling it might have been a more difficult call. Zachary was thrilled to be going to play with his cousins. I guess, at least we had more opportunities to try again. We had four more days. If we had waited until Friday and that happened, we would be going over yet again.

It wasn't how I planned it, but we had plan B. He knew we'd try again. He finished his first day of camp. Now it's time to go home and, well, sleep on it. And try try again.