Bedtime with Mrs.
Honeybee Today,
In the Honeybee neighborhood,
My best friend Melody Bee learns how fun life can be on two wheels.
Even though she's convinced her two wings are enough,
Melody Bee is going to learn how to ride a bike.
It's always good to learn something new,
Isn't it,
My little Honeybee?
Oh,
How fun!
Who's learning something new?
You'll see,
Melody Bee.
Wait,
What?
Have you ever seen a bee ride a bike?
All you have to do is close your eyes,
Get cozy,
And listen to the sound of my voice.
Mrs.
Honeybee will be your guide.
Let's begin.
You are here,
In the Honeybee neighborhood,
Walking up to our house.
The sun is shining down on today,
And the garage is wide open,
As if it's inviting you in.
Take a slow,
Deep breath in through your nose.
Feel the warmth of the sunshine on your cheeks.
Then,
Slowly,
Breathe all the way out through your mouth,
And walk into the garage.
We invited you over to help us with a monumental task.
You arrive just as we have gotten started,
Already deeply focused on our work,
Going through Mr.
Honeybee's garage for a neighborhood yard sale.
We don't hear you arrive,
But Harold does.
He leaps out a pile of old blankets that he's perched on top of,
And gallops toward you.
That finally gets our attention.
Why,
Hello,
My little Honeybee.
You're here,
Just in time,
To help us dig through our forgotten treasure.
You just never know what you'll find in here.
Years of accumulated things,
Some used and some completely forgotten about,
Like this can of pink paint.
Look at this thing.
We haven't opened this in.
.
.
How many years do you think it's been,
My dear?
Um,
That has to be about fifteen or so.
Maybe twenty.
Wow.
Two decades this paint has been sitting here.
You'd never know it,
Though,
By looking at it.
Somehow,
It hasn't aged a bit.
I call dibs on this one.
The garden can use a splash of pink.
We can also paint the park benches,
Too.
Oh,
That's a good idea.
Let's start a couple piles.
One to recycle like Melody Bee mentioned,
One to donate,
And one for the yard sale.
The proceeds will go to the Honeybee Neighborhood Fund Fund.
So this one goes in the two-recycle pile.
With Harold by your side,
You start to dig through the first pile you see.
You find boxes filled with Christmas lights that still work.
Those can go to the yard sale.
There's a big plastic bag full of teddy bears and stuffed animals that look a little well-loved,
But still capable of bringing so much joy to those who need a plushie hug.
That will be donated.
You keep moving through the piles,
Stacking everything into neater piles in the middle of the garage.
Take a slow,
Deep breath in through your nose and feel the sensation of your heart beating once,
Twice,
Three times.
Then,
Slowly,
Breathe all the way out through your mouth.
You're now crouched over an old chair,
Trying to grab something interesting at the bottom of a pile of stuff.
It looks like a tiny bike.
You can't quite get a hold of the handlebars.
Mr.
Honeybee and I come over to help.
Together,
We unearth the tiniest bike you've ever seen.
It's a little bitty bike.
The tires still have air in them,
And there's a basket in the front.
You peek back in the pile and see that there's another one.
We reach in and pull that one out,
Too.
It's the perfect size for you to ride.
Oh,
We definitely need to test these out before we decide which pile they go in.
You sit down on the bike and ring the bell for fun.
Then you ride around in little circles while Harold chases you around the garage.
Melody B.
Hears the commotion and quickly flutters over to join us on the other side of the garage.
Whoa!
What is that?
What do you mean?
What is what?
What is that thing that's going round and round?
What's the round thing?
Melody B.
Were you asking what a bike is?
Brake?
Bike.
It's only the best invention ever.
Second to the wheel,
I guess.
It was invented in the early 1800s,
I think.
The first bike ever was called a Velocipede.
I'm not even going to try that one.
So does that mean you don't know how to ride a bike,
Melody B.
?
I don't know if you've all met me or anything,
But I have wings.
Look at these puppies.
No,
Not literal puppies,
Harold,
Sorry.
But look at these flutter machines.
I don't need a brake or a bike or whatever that contraption is.
Melody B.
Tries to distract everyone by holding up an old coin she found,
But it doesn't work.
As a rule of thumb,
We always try to challenge ourselves to do new things so we never stop growing and learning.
Sure,
Melody B.
Can fly.
She can probably even fly faster than she can pedal.
But there's something special about trying something out that you never knew existed until today.
Are you sure you don't want to ride a bike?
You'll be the first B.
To ever do it.
What an honorable title.
Um,
I'm working my way diligently up to Queen B.
That's plenty honorable for me.
Melody B.
What if you think about it in a different way?
Like,
Think of all the bike rides we can go on together.
Mr.
Honeybee and I have bikes,
And we have an extra bike for our little Honeybee.
We can go on a bike ride today.
That does sound fun,
But why can't I just buzz along like I do when we go for walks?
Because you already know how to buzz and flutter,
As you so proudly showed us.
You don't yet know how to ride a bike.
You can learn something new.
You could evolve the B.
As a whole species forward in their evolution by learning to ride a bike.
Why do I have to be in charge of evolution?
I can already tell.
I'm going to learn how to ride a bike today,
Aren't I?
You sure are.
Hop on.
Do you mean jump like a grasshopper?
With Harold still at your feet,
You put on your helmet and swing one leg over the bike to show Melody B.
How to sit on the seat properly.
She looks at you,
Then looks at the bike,
Then manages to get up onto the seat.
If she leans all the way forward,
She can reach the handlebars.
Mr.
Honeybee adjusts the pedals and the handlebars on both bikes so they're perfect fits for both of you.
Then he helps Melody B.
Put on her helmet.
Just sitting on the bike,
Melody B.
Already looks somewhat proud of herself.
She's not usually one to sit down,
So every aspect of this is new.
Melody B.
Is so happy you're here to help her challenge herself in new ways.
Okay Melody B.
Riding a bike is all geometry.
And do not try to tell me you don't know about geometry.
I've heard you talk at length about how the hexagon is the most perfect shape to maximize honey production on the honeycomb.
You can do this.
Using my own honey making skills against me.
Fine,
I hear you.
It's all about geometry.
Mr.
Honeybee goes on to explain the details of the bike's mechanical function and carefully illustrates where the many points of friction are that allow the bike to move at all times.
Melody B.
's eyes glaze over with information and she dreams of yesterday when she still didn't know what a bike was.
Mr.
Honeybee's enthusiasm about center of gravity snaps her back.
She knows all about gravity.
That's an important concept in fluttering.
Oh,
That I think I can do.
Center myself like I'm flying.
Then pick up the breeze?
Well,
No.
Well,
Well,
Actually,
Maybe yeah.
Try it.
Full of the same confidence she has with flying,
Melody B.
Launches the bike down the driveway.
Fluttering her wings behind her.
The bike wobbles wildly beneath her and her fluttering wings keep her in place as it falls to one side.
I just asked that you notice how well my wings work.
Just notice it.
Maybe we should work together.
Just a suggestion.
Let's try something different,
Melody B.
See if we can get you going.
I guess I should have known that the teacher among us would be a bit better at this.
Before we do anything else,
We all pause with Melody B.
And go back to the garage.
Before we do anything else,
We all pause with Melody B.
And clear our minds of any frustration.
Take a slow,
Deep breath in through your nose.
Allow the fresh air to gather in your chest and collect everything you'd like to release.
Then slowly breathe all the way out through your mouth and let yourself feel heavy and supported in this moment.
You are supporting your friend in her growth and that's an important job.
Melody B.
Rings the bell on her bike to signal that she's ready to try again.
Okay,
This time let's go slower and honor the process of this whole new thing.
Mr.
Honeybee,
Can you take off the pedals?
Take them off?
Do you mean put on training wheels?
No,
No,
No.
We just need to get those pedals out of the way.
Um,
Sure.
Of course I can.
But isn't that an important part of riding a bike?
Well,
I guess you're learning something too today,
My dear.
Mr.
Honeybee takes the pedals off.
That allows Melody B.
To push herself while sitting on the bike to acclimate to what it's like to be on a bike at all.
She feels more of a sense of control and that helps her wobble better.
Melody B.
Goes in slow circles,
Walking the bike around and around.
You decide to give her some encouragement by riding alongside.
He's smiling from ear to ear as Harold joins in.
She's feeling so confident that she wants to try to go down the driveway again,
But only if you go with her.
You pull your bike up to the top of the driveway and slowly begin riding down with Melody B.
She's able to run while holding on to the handlebars and balancing.
She goes faster and faster.
You turn one way to ride down the sidewalk and she turns the opposite.
Right into a rose bush.
Ow!
Why must roses be so beautiful and so painful?
Their stingers are even more pokey than mine.
Together,
We carefully help Melody B.
Out of the rose bush.
You do the honors of picking her a little rose to make her feel better.
She happily accepts it and holds it up for a big sniff of the fresh aroma.
Melody B.
Is more determined than ever to get back on the bike.
Feeling confident and capable with you by her side,
She hops back on and walks,
Then runs.
While running,
She tries picking up her feet.
She goes for longer and longer stretches without putting her feet down.
Melody B.
Is ready for her first bike ride.
We each hop onto our bikes,
Strap on our helmets,
And roll down the driveway to meet Melody B.
Harold hops in the tiny basket at the front of her bike and we're ready to go.
We all agree to go slowly until she gets the hang of it.
But she blows us all away by pushing off and getting the hang of it right away.
You pedal harder to get up to where she is and together you go around the corner and into a cul-de-sac where you can work on more circles.
Melody B.
Insists on trying to race and Harold's ears flop in the wind.
Riding blissfully throughout the Honey Bee neighborhood,
Waving to all of your friends.
Take a slow,
Deep breath in through your nose.
Feel the sun shining down on you and the joy of this moment.
Then slowly breathe all the way out through your mouth and try to get up ahead of Melody B.
Mr.
Honey Bee comes around the side of both of you and zooms up ahead.
He isn't in the lead for long though.
Hi everyone!
Bye everyone!
Weeeee!
We continue down the road,
Alternating between races we surprise each other with and peaceful rides,
Enjoying the warm breeze.
Melody B.
Is now able to join us for our bike rides.
These bikes will have to stay in the garage though.
So many more miles of memories to put on them.
Always remember Mrs.
Honey Bee believes in you.
You are special and you are loved.
I can't wait to see you again.
