Commuting by bicycle, it has begun!
Finally, my daughter's bicycle commute has begun.
I had previously written an article about the issue of driving my daughter to the station, and although our family had continued to drive her through various twists and turns, changes in my husband's workplace and working hours made it difficult to continue driving her to the station.
So, we decided to rent an electric bicycle through a rental service called Rentio.
It is a one-year contract, and the monthly fee is about 6,000 yen.
After one year, we can either buy it outright or return it.
The one I ride is something I bought at a home improvement store for about 90,000 yen.
However, when I started looking for one for my daughter, models from famous manufacturers were around 150,000 yen.
It was more expensive than I had thought.
Moreover, there are so many types of electric bicycles that I don't really understand what the differences are.
I tried searching online by entering "junior high student," "bicycle commute," and "electric bicycle," but there was such a wide range of options that I couldn't choose.
I thought about going to a home improvement store to look, but the biggest problem was that
my daughter herself wasn't very keen on riding a bicycle to the station in the first place.
"If possible, I don't want to ride one."
With that feeling somewhere in her mind, I felt it wasn't right to make an expensive purchase.
What if it didn't suit her?
What if she didn't end up riding it?
That was when I thought of renting.
Together with my daughter,
"How about this one?"
"How about this one?"
We chose one while looking at the colors and designs,
"This one is fine."
And we ordered that one.
Then yesterday, the bicycle arrived.
Finally, the bicycle commute started.
I immediately received a LINE message from my daughter after she arrived at the station.
"Super easy."
Seeing those words, I couldn't help but laugh.
"Should we have bought it sooner?"
When I replied that, she replied,
"That's not it."
Furthermore,
"I'm taking a break in the winter."
She said.
"Why!"
I wanted to retort, but that is just like her.
I don't know if it will last.
Her feelings might change depending on the season.
That is precisely why choosing to rent instead of buying this time might have been the right decision.
With this, I won't have to drive her to the station except on rainy days.
To be honest, the morning commute was a bit tough.
But it was also a time to have trivial conversations in the car.
Those few tens of minutes might have been precious time for us as parent and child.
This morning, even though I remembered about the bicycle commute when I woke up, I finished getting ready in time for the usual departure time, prepared the coffee I drink in the car, and was bustling about.
Then my daughter said to me, "I'm going by bicycle, right?" and I realized, "Oh! That's right!"
I felt a little lonely seeing my daughter off as she rode away on her bicycle.
But I think more than that.
Little by little, like this,
she is changing "things that parents did" into
"things she can do herself."
I suppose that is what growing up is.
Even so, I am aware that I have spoiled her quite a bit,
and for this past year or so, I have had an indescribable feeling, wondering if it was okay to spoil her this much.
Even so, I think I was telling myself in a way that this time we have together is surely only now.
I will continue to drive her on rainy days, and there will be times when I lend a hand when she is in trouble.
In the early summer of her second year of junior high, she started commuting by bicycle.
For my daughter, it might just be that her means of transportation to the station has changed.
But for me, it was a day when my daughter expanded her own world once again.