boarderboy Posted May 20, 2009 Report Share Posted May 20, 2009 (at Two Ravens' suggestion) to try to get my son into BMX. He turns 13 today, and I'm hoping this will give him an "absorbing" outlet for at least a little of the normal teen angst and for some of his hyper, hyper ADHD issues. I have this Vimeo 'cued up' and when the B'day celebration's done, we're going to tell him there's one more gift, but he needs to watch the video first. When it's over, I'm gonna toss an envelope to him. Inside is a photo/composite card with a pic of two of my REI bike shop buds standing beside a slightly 'used' Fat Boy. Card says HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAVID Scott & Hormis Get Ready to Prep Your BMX for some Hard Ridin' 05/19/09 Lame, I know. But you gotta try. Thanks, again, for the inspriation!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
two_ravens Posted May 21, 2009 Report Share Posted May 21, 2009 Ulp! Hope you're not going to be sending me the hospital bills!!! Seriously, bike sounds like a great call! He can take it anywhere - mountains, urban, to the end of the block or around the world. I hope he finds a way to translate all that energy in beautiful, mind blowing movement! So has the birthday party happened yet? What did he think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Gendzwill Posted May 21, 2009 Report Share Posted May 21, 2009 I have a question - I understand why the seat is low, or non-existent in some cases. But when it's there, why is it tilted back? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boarderboy Posted May 22, 2009 Report Share Posted May 22, 2009 So has the birthday party happened yet? What did he think? was totally enthralled and blown away by the vid. Rapt attention all the way through. (I couldn't believe it...) Before I give his reaction to the BMX gift, I'd like to digress for a second. This PM, much to his chagrin, I picked our son up @ school and let him know that he and I were going to be "running errands" for most of the afternoon so Mom could get some much-needed, and much-deserved, rest. (This mile-a-minute guy can suck all the oxygen out of a room in nothing flat.) He was miffed - gonna be with Dad in that Beetle 'chick car' 'stead of playin with his buds in the neighborhood. By 6'ish, our last "errand" was going to be to stop at a local skate shop, and I forewarned (asked) David some time in advance if he'd like to join me in the 'Endless Grind'. "No! I'm a surfer and a snowboarder!! I don't skate!!" (Huh??!!) Well, when the time came, not only did he join me in the shop, he tried to hustle me into buying him a slick, new 'Jaws' themed deck. (No way that was gonna happen...) All this is by way of saying that as an early adolescent with delayed emotional maturity and plenty of 'issues', our son is in a constant state of chameleon-like flux. Don't like what he 'is' at the moment? Just wait a couple of minutes... Now, with all that said, I return to the BMX present. David bloody hated it!! (last night anyway...) "I want a motorized scooter!" Well Dad bloody hates those, at least for kids!! So a mighty brouhaha of historic proportions ensued. The final upshot is, of course, that the Fat Boy is stayin'!! And if I have to drag our son to the 'Park' and take a couple of groin-jarring bike drops myself and embarrass the Hades out him, so be it!! David's on a modified year-round school schedule and begins his longest quarterly break next week. His pediatrician has insisted, and Mom has reinforced, that he needs at least 20 minutes of endorphin-producing vigorous exercise to begin each day. One way or another, he will get it!, and that regimen will continue after fall quarter starts, too!! (He is not going to "veg out" all summer in front of TV and computer monitors!) I am no seer, and I've long since stopped trying to predict exactly what our guy will, or won't, do. But I strongly suspect that by summer's end, David will be a much better skateboarder, and an advancing BMX wannabe, too!:eplus2: Sincere thanks, Two Ravens, and please keep those ideas coming! Will take the rest of this off-line. BB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawndoggy Posted May 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2009 BB thanks for sharing your story. Have you thought about martial arts for your son? Mine has been doing it for a number of years and I've seen it really help with the focus aspect. Lots of endorphin releasing physical fitness too. And it's not all Cobra Kai -- my son's studio is all about training kids not to fight (outside of sparing class) and to use their skills defensively. I can't begin to tell you what a positive effect martial arts have had on my son. Apologies in advance, I know you aren't looking for parenting advice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boarderboy Posted May 22, 2009 Report Share Posted May 22, 2009 Apologies in advance, I know you aren't looking for parenting advice! Whaddaya think?? I'm Nuts!!?? Of course I'm looking for parenting "advice"!!:lol::lol: With this kid, it doesn't 'take a village'. It takes a freaking metropolis!! More later. Gotta go. Anniversary. cheers and thanks! BB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boarderboy Posted May 24, 2009 Report Share Posted May 24, 2009 All swell that end swell. I will avoid the "gory" details. But our process did start out gory indeed this morning. Eventually, however, our son was delightedly hopping curbs and disappearing in the hot, hazy parking lot distance on his Fat Boy. (The 'light monsoon' season is upon us here in Lesser Possum's Pouch. The 'heavy', we fear, will follow in short order.) David cared not that it was a 'used' BMX. He didn't want the 'better' new tires I offered to buy. ("No! I like these!!) He thought it was completely cool that some of his 'buds' in the REI shop had helped in the purchasing search, and truly great that a Wyoming BOL'er called 'two_ravens' had recommended this as fun "therapy" for a hyperactive teen. Before the afternoon ended, we'd dropped in on a BMX competition in the 'Containment Area' (Cary, N.C.) skate/bike park and then walked/ridden (he rode, I hoofed it) the 5 miles back home. David showed little interest in the contest but a great deal of interest in a baby copperhead that had parked itself in the middle of a paved greenway trail. The little pit viper displayed absolutely no inclination to move, so David "ushered" it into the adjoining woods for its own safety. (Nice guy, my son, with a real passion for nature and a wonderful, developing conservation ethic.) Shawndoggy, we have tried taekwondo (sp?) with some success. Can't remember if our son's a red or purple belt at the moment. Sadly, he lost interest this winter and has taken a hiatus. We are trying to encourage a quick return. With that, I'll end this unintended 'thread jack' and, sometime this summer, start a 'teen versus tyrant' thread in Off Topic. In the meantime, thanks and cheers to all. May your Memorial Day be a time of calm reflection and intense 'riding' of some type. BB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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