By Kakie Fitzsimmons

Recently some juvenile CLOWNS from another neighborhood thought it would be great to steal my 9 year-old son's bike because theirs had broken, just across the street. Yeah, not cool. I actually saw all 5 boys involved out of my window and thought; "That bike looks like my son's" as they disappeared around the corner. Sure enough, not 5 minutes later my son is running down the street panicking crying loudly and all I could hear was, "MOMMY! MY BIIIIIKE! SOMEONE TOOK MY BIKE!"  Talk about adrenaline rush. The only way I can describe it is I was whirling inside. 

Day 1 6PM: I won't get into the ugly details, but let's just say the police did get involved. The bad news was when they found the boys they didn't have the bike in their possession so the police could not press charges. Now, my heart is broken because I feel the experience is taking a piece of my little guy's innocence.

That evening, he wants to stay up and wait for the police to call and save his day. He keeps coming out of his bedroom asking. "Did the police call back yet?" Each time to hear the word "No, sorry honey, they are working on it." 

Day 2 5AM He comes running into my room and says he is having a nightmare. I sooth him and tell him to come in and lie down. He has his back to me and is gazing out the rainy window. In his sweet, quiet sad voice, "Mommy? What if my bike is out there all alone in the pouring rain or dumped in a pond or something?" (Me = Heart Breaking). I respond by assuring him I am going to do everything to get his bike back and that we had to be patient. As the day evolves, I patiently wait; have voice-mail exchanges with the police officer, no results.

Day 2 4:30 PM I pick up my son from school and my eyes are filled with tears because I know I will have to tell him we don't know much more yet and have to be patient.

Day 2 6:00PM I am outside chatting with a few of my neighbors about "the incident." In the middle of our conversation, a police car slowly comes around the corner with it's trunk popped a little. My son is inside the house and I am praying.

It was like my son was waiting for the police to come and save him, and they did. They were his knight in shining armor.  I am grateful for the friendly neighbors who identified the person who took the bike. Turns out they saw the boys our their back window, one of whom was charged with petty misdemeanor theft. This was a happy ending where justice prevailed for my son. I hope the young man who took the bike takes the right path in life. Despite what happened, I wish him well.

So, how is stealing "a bike," stealing more than "JUST A BIKE?"

Parents know, a bike for a little boy is more that what it appears at first glance. It gives them so many gifts; a sense of authority, freedom, self-confidence, independence, control and perseverance. It teaches them about healthy living, social interaction with other kids, etc.

 It gives us the gift of learning how to let them grow into who they are. Together, we celebrate wins. Some of us have that memory of when they first learned how to push the pedals because we had to show them how.   Biking eventually becomes a passion and seems as if it is an extension of them. 

I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences below. Thanks in advance for joining us in the conversation.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 9th, 2010 at 5:47 pm and is filed under Community Board. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.