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'Seeing everything through her eyes for the first time, it’s beautiful': Dad and daughter bike, play piano in Oak Bay

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When Alex started cycling today, he never expected to do something he’d never done before.

“It was really about taking some fresh air,” he says. “And enjoying this beautiful day.”

He enjoys just being on his bike with a compartment attached to the front for his baby, Amber, to ride in.

“It’s the most wonderful thing to be with her,” Alex smiles.

To see how she not only responds to the world around her, but his face above her.

“She’s trying to replicate the [expressions] that I’m doing,” Alex smiles, showing how he looks when he’s exerting himself up a hill and how Amber attempts to scrunch her face to copy him. “It’s cute.”

It’s like she’s watching a compelling movie on the big screen. But instead of popcorn, Amber snacks on her sunglasses.

“It’s an adventure for her,” Alex says. “And it’s a good time for me.”

But then — like a movie — an unexpected twist occurs.

“It’s actually the first time,” Alex says after noticing a brightly painted public piano in a green space overlooking the ocean. “I didn’t see that before.”

It’s an opportunity to do something new together.

“It’s kind of cute how she sees the sound and figures out what’s going on,” Alex says as Amber holds on to her dad’s hand while he plays a series of songs on the keyboard.

Unlike Simon and Garfunkel, this song-writing team has no troubled water to bridge. Unlike Jagger and Richards, they got satisfaction. More like Lennon and McCartney, Alex and Amber are composing ‘A Day in the Life.’

“Seeing everything through her eyes for the first time, it’s beautiful,” Alex says before gently tapping his daughter’s nose and kissing her hand.

And when it’s time to go home on their bike, Alex will smile with gratitude for the moments they shared. Amber will respond by raising a bare foot in the air. Dad will smile again. Daughter, encouraged, will grab another handful of toes, which will only make him smile more. And combined with an unexpected bump in the road, Amber will break into a big smile, bursting with joy.

“There’s many things that are complicated in life,” Alex says. “But the simple things are the ones we really enjoy and keep memories for a long time.” 

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