2

He was making a list of things he wanted for Christmas and finding out how much those things would cost on the computer. Christmas already? Yep. My son likes stuff.

"Are you sure you don't want to come on a bike ride with me?" I asked again.

"Yeah, you said it was going to be hard."

"Not that hard. There are a few hills on the first part then it's all down hill. We can turn around and come home if you get tired."

"Nah. I'm busy with this."

A few minutes later I asked for the third or fourth time, "Are you sure you don't want to come with me?"

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"You're going to miss me when I'm gone."

"Nah." He laughed a little to soften the blow.

"Okay, bye," I said.

I went out to the back porch where we keep the bikes, put on my helmet, and kicked up the bike's stand. A few seconds later, the sliding door opened. There he was.

"I changed my mind. I'm coming with you," he said.

"I thought you were busy."

"I finished."

"Yay!"

"You seem really happy I decided to come with you."

"That's because I am."

We rode through the neighborhood, past his school, up through the neighborhood where we used to live, down past the park, past his school again, hung out at the skate park to watch skaters for a few minutes, rode past our church, and then rode up into our current neighborhood. Not including the skate park stop, what normally takes me 30 minutes took 24.

Along the way I kept turning around and asking him if he was tired. "No," was the answer except for one time he said, "My legs are kind of tired."

When we arrived home I said, "We did that faster than I usually do."

"That's because I was with you. Normally you're alone and don't have anyone to impress."

I smiled on the inside.

"Did I impress you?" I asked him.

"Not really."

Well, I impressed myself.

And now he's added "skateboard" to his Christmas list.