the beautiful summer morning...

We had a beautiful summer morning today and what better family fun activity, I thought, than a bike ride through our local trail called, the Greenway. This would be a great opportunity to show Greyson how much fun exercise can be while sharing stories and observing nature. We could even skip stones and splash our feet in the river. Oh, what fun!

Here is my husband's vision of a beautiful summer morning on the bike trail...and what really happened.

We get out of the car, remove our bikes from the back, he attaches Greysons' trailer to his bike then hands me a water-bottle and looks at me with a smile, as if to say "catch me if you can" as he speeds off into "his sunset" leaving me in the dust...

I started pedaling as fast as I could, but my husband was kicking my butt even with a little 1 year old attached behind him on the bike trailer. He seemed to effortlessly fly up hills that I had no recollection of existing there. I hate to lose, but my legs felt like jelly just after a few minutes..

How could I be this out of shape, half of the time I'm running around on chase patrol of my energizer bunny, I mean child, and the other half I'm lugging him on my arm while picking up his toys. Doesn't that count as power squats??

Then, after much whining & complaining, and huffing and puffing, a sense of power came over me as I remembered, I gave birth to a child, naturally for 7 hours! Yes, that's right no drugs! I did a half-marathon and even completed a sprint triathlon...Gee, I could do anything for an hour! This soon became my mantra for the the rest of the ride: "I can do anything for an hour, I labored for 7 hours! I can do anything for an hour!"

I felt inspired again! I started singing my favorite U2 play list songs that were now running through my head. Even the burning ache in my thighs seemed to disappear! In that moment I felt like "ME"! Oh it had been so long since I had felt that rush. For this past year was ALL about our precious little boy. And although it should be mostly about him, I think I was beginning to lose myself in the everyday Greyson routine. It is very easy to do that...I was starting to forget what made Greyson's mommy different then any other mommy.

Motherhood is an absolute blessing, but it doesn't have to be all encompassing. Yes, I love my baby but I also love to cook, drink a glass of wine at sunset, love to read, love my husband and yes, I love a good bike challenge from him too!

Sorry, this story will not end with my victorious win, as Helen Reddy's "I am Woman" plays in the backdrop...But, I came close and we did splash in the river... Although it didn't go as planned, what a beautiful summer morning!


Above are my two winners and teachers...Thank you for reminding me to be ME!