Dragon Slayer

My Grandson above, is as big hearted as they come. You couldn't make him say anything bad, about anyone else. He overheard Grandma once, who was looking in a mirror at the time, say she "looked auwful". He immediately jumped up and got in her face to scold her. "Grandma you are pretty, don't say that".
He's a big kid. He's a first grader who looks like one of the fourth graders. That will get you picked on at school because you look big and tough but your mind is still only 7 years old. Eye-hand coordination is just now starting to take off. I'm his male influence here on the farm and we've been working on trying to ride a bike. All of his classmates have been for a year now. We've had a lot of obstacles to overcome. The threat of stitches, if you fall over, being one of the leading ones. And of course whether or not stitches really hurt when they're put in.
We had maybe ten sessions. It started out hopeless. But after about a month of alternately trying and then letting it rest a few days,, SUCCESS!!! All he needed to do now was practice.
I was working on a tractor last evening. It was just about dark but I looked up to see him over by the barn riding this way for a bit, and that way for a bit. He was getting good.
He'd gotten off the bus last night in a bad mood because of what an older kid had said to him. But after doing something he'd never been able to do before, ride his bike, he was on cloud nine. I took him home for dinner. He jumped in the car. Clicked his belt without being told and asked, "Where we goin Granpa?" "Your Mom wants you home for dinner now". Big smile now "Yeah, pizza, I can't wait to tell Mom about riding my bike". He continued, "I like your daughter,,,she's my Mom."
He jumped out and started to the house skipping. I'd never seen him do that. It's hard to break into a big smile and still have tears running down your face.
Yesterday I had chaired a county meeting that was packed with concerned and some agitated citizens. It was the end of a lengthy process we had started to change our zoning and increase economic developement. The meeting had me worried for weeks and it turned out the way we had hoped. Possibly the most important thing to take place in my first four years as a supervisor. A major milestone. But however important that meeting and the events leading up to it were, they pale in comparison to seeing my Grandson on his bike. He slayed a lot dragons that day the bike finally stayed up.