The Scooter Story

A few weeks ago, Elias had a friend over to play after school, and they naturally wanted to play outside. The boys really wanted to ride bikes. Since we don’t have an extra bike that is 7 year old size, the boys had to take turns. While not on the bike, Elias was trying to ride the small scooter he had received as a three year old. It is a scooter with three wheels. The extra wheel is added for stability (much needed for the toddler), but for a seven year old trying to race his friend on his bike…let’s just say the three wheeled scooter is probably slower than a turtle.

I mentioned to Elias that maybe it was time that he got an age appropriate scooter. He had some Christmas money along with some money that he had saved. Later that day we counted his money, and he had about $35. We went to the store to look at different scooters, and the one he wanted was about $45. I’ve never seen a kid do so many extra chores in the hopes of getting a little extra change.

Needless to say, Elias earned the money he needed to make it up to $45. We picked a day the next week and headed to the store. He was so proud to pay for that scooter all by himself!

The weather on the day of Elias’ purchase was iffy. It was one of those northwest days that can turn from sunny and calm to a deluge of rain in an instant. But when we walked out of the store the sun was shining, and according to the boys, I couldn’t drive home fast enough. They wanted to try it out!

Of course when we pulled into the garage, a sprinkle had begun, but I thought I’d let them ride anyway. A little sprinkle won’t hurt anyone. We got the scooter out of the box and the boys started riding around the cul-de-sac. I snapped a couple of pictures.

It started actually raining a bit. I figured they were already a bit wet from the sprinkle so I’d let them stay and play. A little rain never hurt anybody either. We could always change clothes when we got inside if needed.

It started raining harder. Hard enough that I stopped taking pictures and put my phone away in the garage so it wouldn’t get wet. The boys were smiling and laughing and having fun splashing and riding around the neighborhood. “Wow! We are really enjoying the moment! This is the kind of mom I want to be!,” I thought to myself.

It started really really pouring. Some of the hardest rain I’ve seen in a long time. We live on a bit of a slope, and there were torrents of water running down the street. The boys were even nervous to cross it on their bikes/scooters. By now they were so incredulous that I was allowing them to stay out and play. They were also making remarks about flash floods.

Believe it or not, it rained even harder. A neighbor came out and from the safety of his dry porch called to me and asked if I was alright. That made me rethink my decision to let the boys play outside in the rain. But he was just enjoying his newly bought scooter, right? Sometimes kids need to play outside in the rain, right?

It started hailing. At first the kids thought it was fun seeing the white pellets on the street and on their jackets, but before too long, I had Caleb screaming in pain from the pellets hitting his hands. Oops! We stayed out too long.

I picked up Caleb and his bike, ran to the safety of the garage, called the other boys inside, and we started the drying process. I had a mountain of wet clothes and shoes inside the door to the house, and three boys invigorated from the experience. I think next time, though, I’ll have them come in before the hail starts!

Elias has been riding his scooter pretty much every day. I’d say it was $45 well spent, and the scooter will serve him well for years to come. He was so proud of it that he made me bring it to Ama and Baba’s house so he could show them. Here he is showing it off in their cul-de-sac:

He has been very generous, too, with sharing scooter time. Simon, who has extreme scooter jealousy has been taking as many turns as he can get.

And Elias even shares with his littlest bro:

All’s well that ends well I guess, but the next time we make a major outdoor toy purchase, I’ll take a closer look at the forecast!