Going on a bike ride

“Mom, that’s the perfect speed, are you going slower for me?” Ellie calls from behind me as we are going on a bike ride.

“No, this is the perfect speed for me too babes, this way we can be really careful when we cross the streets.”

Ellie learned to ride her bike without training wheels a few weeks ago. She is now ready to go on longer trips, so I am taking her to a little deli close to our house to get a chocolate malt. It is a beautiful day. The sun is high, it is warm, but there is a gentle breeze.

At the deli we get Ellie’s chocolate malt. We sit outside, the deli has cute little tables for their costumers to enjoy the outdoors. Ellie picks the one with the “Pepsi” sign printed on the large umbrella.

As we ride back, we pass two girls on a tree. It is hard to see them as they hide between the branches and the lush leaves.

“Can we get some boards on our tree so we can climb it?” Ellie asks.

“Yeah, maybe daddy can do that for you, it would be fun!”

We stop by our neighbor’s house – a Mexican family – and Ellie plays with their little boy while I visit with my friend in her back porch.

We say goodbye and we head back home.

This bike ride with my daughter will be a memory I will treasure for a long time. She is growing up so fast, and I want to create lasting and meaningful memories with her, mom and I used to ride our bikes and get a treat on Sunday evenings. Maybe from this day she will remember the little girls hiding in the tree as we rode by and how fun it looked, or the taste of the chocolate malt while she looked at me with her bright blue eyes. Maybe she will remember the love between us.

“Mom, can we do this every Sunday?” She asks.

“I hope so babes, I hope we do this for as long as we can.”