Welcome Back/Learning to Fly

Hello, friends. I can take the good natured ribbing when I run into folks at parties and such and they tell me I need to update my blog. I suppose I hadn't realized it's been nearly a month and a half. However, when I received an email from my father-in-law last week checking in to see if everything is okay, I thought, "Self, you really need to spew some words onto the screen."

There's much material available but little time it seems to get it up on the interweb. Although there have been trips and travels and lots of good riding, here are a few snippets that have warmed my heart over the past couple of months.

Sylvia is now officially ripping it up on two wheels, completely unsupported or aided in any way. I'd forgotten how amazing it is to watch someone learn how to ride a bike. There's not just the physical challenges that are overcome, but the greater notion of freedom and independence that person will experience through pedaling. We've been working on dropping curbs, but she's not quite up for that yet.

We enjoyed our first ride together -- one mile up to the neighborhood store where Sylvia got to pick out the fruity drink of her choice. The way home is about halfway downhill. It had not occurred to me that she was less than confident with her coaster brake, preferring instead the foot-down technique that is less effective but highly theatrical. Dad, who had been following, decided it prudent to instead ride in front of Sylvia so the Big Dummy could be used as a net should she roll toward an intersection at terminal velocity.

Sylvia asks to ride constantly. We're lucky to have a parking lot up the alley. We just wheel the bikes up and ride circles together. Round and round and round ...

Meanwhile, back at the ranch ... We finally got around to putting finish on the beautiful porch swing that Sabra built and gave to us for Chistmas. The front porch seems complete again. I can occasionally be seen relaxing in it. That's rare for me to sit in one place for long, but the swing has a certain allure. It whispers, "Sit here a while. Get a little rhythm going. All those to-do's will still be there when you're done."

Riding in circles, talking to porch swings, yielding to the urge to take it easy. Maybe I'm just getting old.