Nothing too deep or philosophical tonight, I'm just too tired, but I do want to communicate what's been happening. The past couple of weeks have been even more chaotic and busy than "normal" (whatever that means, lately!), as evidenced in part by how long it's been since my last post. It's been quite a challenge getting myself prepared for this, and not only from a physical fitness standpoint. A mother just can't simply throw some things in a bag and waltz out the door, and I've done my best to leave things as organized and planned as possible. Thanks again to my husband and mom for stepping up to the plate and giving me the freedom to go...
The rubber really did hit the road on Thursday as I drove my car from NJ to my Mom's house in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and the long-awaited adventure has finally begun to unfold. The past 24 hours has been an interesting whirlwind of revisiting old, deep-rooted relationships, and being on the verge of an almost overwhelming number of new ones. Last evening, my mom and I went to visit my 97-year-old grandfather, who will be following my leg of the Sea to Sea tour on maps that my mom has marked with the general route. He is even planning on coming to the celebration rally tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon, God bless him. This morning, I had breakfast with my dearest (oops, almost said "oldest", but that sounds bad!) childhood friend and got to meet her adopted baby from China for the first time. Then, this afternoon, on our way to Calvin College, my mom and I visited briefly with a dear uncle that I have not seen for a long time, and because of health issues, may not see again...
This afternoon, all of the east leg Sea to Sea riders (40 or 50 of us) were required to participate in a bike safety course, and this is where I began to meet many of them for the first time. It was interesting to see certain faces in "real life" that have already become familiar from reading blog posts. i wonder if I will actually know all of their names 15 days from now...
We sat through about 2 hours of instruction on pretty basic bike safety topics like proper bike/helmet fit, riding in traffic, fixing a flat tire, etc. Then for the last hour, we actually had to do some drills on our bikes in the parking lot (swerving around an object in the road, preparing to stop, "scanning" over our left shoulder). It felt a little like driver's ed all over again or maybe just some kind of initiation rite that we had to pass through before getting to the fun stuff. :) Tomorrow morning I have to be back at Calvin to officially register, which will be followed by orientation, and of course the celebration rally in the afternoon.
At one point, my mom asked me if I was nervous, or excited... and I didn't even know how to answer that. Everything over the past couple of days has just seemed a little surreal, and I think I just can't believe that it's finally here and I'M DOING IT. Even harder to believe, and I think kind of funny, is that it was just about a year ago that I first started musing to my husband, "I think I'd really like to start biking again." What do they say? Be careful what you ask for...
The rubber really did hit the road on Thursday as I drove my car from NJ to my Mom's house in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and the long-awaited adventure has finally begun to unfold. The past 24 hours has been an interesting whirlwind of revisiting old, deep-rooted relationships, and being on the verge of an almost overwhelming number of new ones. Last evening, my mom and I went to visit my 97-year-old grandfather, who will be following my leg of the Sea to Sea tour on maps that my mom has marked with the general route. He is even planning on coming to the celebration rally tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon, God bless him. This morning, I had breakfast with my dearest (oops, almost said "oldest", but that sounds bad!) childhood friend and got to meet her adopted baby from China for the first time. Then, this afternoon, on our way to Calvin College, my mom and I visited briefly with a dear uncle that I have not seen for a long time, and because of health issues, may not see again...
This afternoon, all of the east leg Sea to Sea riders (40 or 50 of us) were required to participate in a bike safety course, and this is where I began to meet many of them for the first time. It was interesting to see certain faces in "real life" that have already become familiar from reading blog posts. i wonder if I will actually know all of their names 15 days from now...
We sat through about 2 hours of instruction on pretty basic bike safety topics like proper bike/helmet fit, riding in traffic, fixing a flat tire, etc. Then for the last hour, we actually had to do some drills on our bikes in the parking lot (swerving around an object in the road, preparing to stop, "scanning" over our left shoulder). It felt a little like driver's ed all over again or maybe just some kind of initiation rite that we had to pass through before getting to the fun stuff. :) Tomorrow morning I have to be back at Calvin to officially register, which will be followed by orientation, and of course the celebration rally in the afternoon.
At one point, my mom asked me if I was nervous, or excited... and I didn't even know how to answer that. Everything over the past couple of days has just seemed a little surreal, and I think I just can't believe that it's finally here and I'M DOING IT. Even harder to believe, and I think kind of funny, is that it was just about a year ago that I first started musing to my husband, "I think I'd really like to start biking again." What do they say? Be careful what you ask for...
4 comments:
You go, girl! This is what you have been preparing for! Enjoy! Enjoy fellowship! Enjoy the physical work! And enjoy the opportunity to do something that has remarkable impact!
I will be following along as you travel, saying prayers and thinking of you often!
You are my dearest childhood friend, too, and....we are each other's "oldest" friend. (I have pictures to prove it!) Love ya.
Go Sandy! We're all so proud of you. Be safe and have fun! We will be praying for you and the others. See ya in a couple of weeks back in NJ!
Hugs,
Kristin
Woo-hoo! It all begins! Thought of you today, on the road ... what a wild ride! We've all been praying -- the Lord will be right there with you all. Enjoy the ride, my friend!
It's Tuesday....I know today was a lot of miles. Smile as you leave MI!!!! Keeping you in my thoughts and prayers.
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