I found this poem a few days ago at Two Women Blogging. For all the parents out there who taught their kids to ride bikes and had the courage to set them free into the world. (And a gratuitous photo of me with my parents because I like it when we have pictures on the blog and it's thematically appropriate.)

Not Forgotten

by Sheila Packa

I learned to ride
the two wheel bicycle
with my father.
He oiled the chain
clothes-pinned playing cards
to the spokes, put on the basket
to carry my lunch.
By his side, I learned balance
and took on speed
centered behind the wide
handlebars, my hands
on the white grips
my feet pedaling.
One moment he was
holding me up
and the next moment
although I didn't know it
he had let go.
When I wobbled, suddenly
afraid, he yelled keep going—
keep going!
Beneath the trees in the driveway
the distance increasing between us
I eventually rode until he was out of sight.
I counted on him.

That he could hold me was a given
that he could release me was a gift.

With my parents, summer 2010.

Photograph of two women and a man standing in a parking lot with their road bikes. The women are wearing matching jerseys in two shades of blue that say MHC. The man, in the center, is wearing a University of Minnesota jersey. All are wearing helmets and sunglasses.