“Oh the Weather Outside is Frightful”
What if every time the weather wasn’t good, I chose to not ride into town and blog?
Well, the reality is, especially here in MO, I would probably only “biketotype” about 3 weeks in the fall and 3 weeks in the spring. This is why I have committed to ride no matter what, almost. I say “almost” because I do have a couple limits.
#1. I will not ride in tornado weather. Nobody needs to see a woman flying through the air on her bike. Seeing a witch on a broom is scary enough.
#2. I will not ride on icy roads. Snow I can do. Even blizzards. But not ice. Olympics on ice is beautiful. But bikers on ice… not so much.
Anyways, I had another wet ride into town today. Thank the trees though, because I had an incredible waterproof jacket my Jennifer got me as an early Christmas present so my upper body stayed nice and warm! (Yes, I LOVE the Ed Sheeran song “Shivers” but I do not love being so wet and cold that I am shivering.) However, my lower extremities got soaked, so clearly I haven’t nailed how to dress for the rainy season. It’s a “learn by trial” kind of thing and can definitely be frustrating at times.
What if I quit being a mom every time it got really hard? Well shit. I probably would not have even made it through my first pregnancy to be honest, but CERTAINLY not through the birth. I had all my kids at home. All natural. I know that “all natural” sounds really nice but let me assure you, there was nothing “nice” feeling about it.
My son is 17 and graduating this coming spring. It’s a stressful time for him with a lot of homework, juggling part time work and trying to navigate his future. He often neglects his household duties, and most nights he falls asleep on the couch, too tired to walk to his bedroom. Sometimes, okay… often, I get frustrated when he doesn’t pull his load and I find myself getting onto him constantly. I don’t know what the hell I am doing and I wonder who allowed me be a mom when clearly I am not cut out for the job. I wanna quit about every other day. But then I look behind me, see my two other kids and remember that I still have 8 more years to get them all to adulthood. Sigh. “Buckle up Buttercup,” I tell myself.
Maybe we don’t ever figure it out perfectly. Maybe I get all the right rain gear and end up with a sunburn. Maybe it isn’t about figuring out how to parent without frustration. Maybe it’s just life. The daily navigation of things we aren’t prepared for, then adjusting as we need to.
I love when my house looks super clean and tidy. Makes me SO happy. But it also doesn’t last long. It’s not reality for me to expect it to be neat and tidy all the time. At least not unless I want my kids to never use my house, never do art, never get out their stuffed animals, never read books or ever create cool forts to play in; which basically means they aren’t allowed to be kids. If you’re a mom you get this. Even though I teach my kids to clean up after themselves, there always seems to be evidence of their ongoing projects all over the house. Lucky for them though, I have decided that I value their creativity more than my house looking spotless.
Is it possible for me to do this with life? To embrace the messy as “Creativity At Work?” To see each season as an opportunity to learn how to better “dress” for the weather? I think a huge part of it is the belief that I am supposed to have it all figured out by now. The truth is, I can control how I dress, but I cannot control the weather if it decides to change mid-ride. (And if you know anything about MO, it is famous for not following what the weather man predicts.)
Sometimes I think about all of us out here in this busy, chaotic world just doing our best to live life. And I smile because I know how you feel. I get you. Life can be so challenging. Parenting is most definitely challenging. We should be proud of ourselves for continuing to check our weather app each day, and doing our best to be prepared 🙂.
Keep humaning, no matter the weather. I promise it won’t be rainy everyday.
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