It Happened Again

The list of things to get done before the Great Adventure seems insurmountable and yet in the middle of the morning, a beautiful Saturday morning that holds great promise of ticking several things off of the "to do" list, Adam once again points out that it is a great day for a ride. Hmmm...

My mind flashes back to my childhood when I totally thought that my dad worked way too hard - he never stopped! Worked all day in a shop in Erie, Pa., then came home and started his second shift job which was running our small farm. It was really frustrating for him because it seemed that some piece of equipment broke right when you needed it most so he was constantly fixing something and behind because of it. Countless nights I went to bed and listened to him out working the vineyard or garden with the tractor or still banging on some piece of equipment in the barn/driveway, etc.

Then my mind fast forwarded [if that is really a word] to him telling me often over the past 20 years or so, "Don't do it like I did. Take time to spend with your kids and family because time won't wait for you - it goes faster than you think and before you know it, they are gone!"

Well, Dad, you will be glad to know that once again, I applied your instruction and when Adam asked me to go for a ride, these flashbacks along with many others took but a split second. "Sounds like a great idea to me, Adam!" I can tell there are many times that Adam sees me doing the same thing as my dad did - that is, work far more hours than he thinks I should. I see the same concern in Adam for me, as I had for my dad and it helps me slow down now and again to appreciate the really important things in life.

Besides, Dawn and I had already put in a full morning of "to do's" and the three of us were in the middle of cleaning vehicles (Adam's car and our bikes) [my bike? you might ask. Wasn't it just a couple blogs ago that I was cleaning it last? You should have seen the bugs the other night; on the way home after dark - it seemed that EVERY BUG IN THE COUNTY WAS DECIDING TO COMMIT SUICIDE INTO MY HEADLIGHT! Most of them missed the light but succeeded in covering my fairing and lowers! The CSI bug guy, Grissum, would have been in 7th heaven!] ...oh yes, cleaning the vehicles... so we got them all shiny, changed our clothes and went out for lunch and ice cream. Three hours later we got back home in plenty of time to sit and talk on the swing, finish the days chores and write this blog before greeting Jackie and Will. Not to bad, eh?

See, diversions aren't always counterproductive. In fact, diversions like we had today are great! Thanks again, Adam!

By the way, Father's Day came early last week - Dawn took me out to pick up a new pair of riding boots that are great. But let me tell you, we better hurry up and leave for this Great Adventure or we are going to go broke buying stuff for the trip!