From Sizzling Hott Summertime to a TYPD

Well, I did it!  Yesterday, I managed to finish, yes finish all three controversial books in the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy.  (I’ll tell you all about “that” later…)  But guess what else I did yesterday!?  This is really hard to believe;… especially from this not-so-athletic-hott-grey-haired mama of four.  I biked 25 miles!

Yes!  You heard me right!  25 MILES!  And, we have five other witnesses and the cell phone photos to prove it!  I still can’t believe it.  Dan took us all to the canal in Hancock, MD, to ride bikes on the Western Maryland Rail Trail.  On a beautiful summer day, we began our journey west with the mission to go 10 miles and return!

Cycling along with Violet, her friend Katheryn, Dan, Isaac, and Levi, we traveled all the way to the end!  We were all so hyped and excited, our curiosity lead us an extra few miles just to see what the end of the trail looked like.

Seeing a deer, squirrel, and a few chipmunks along the way, the picture perfect day was not altered one bit by another visitor of about five horizontal feet making his way across the bike trail.  Fortunately for our friend “Kat”, this unsuspecting black snake slithered away unharmed.  Along with the wildlife of western Maryland, I noticed another sort of trend.

As a biker approaches, one calls out “Biker to your left!” so that one may pass each other.  Time and time again, each and every one of these bikers were Senior Citizens!  After our fourth rest stop in 45 minutes, I said to Dan, “Hey honey, did you see that?  Everyone else out biking today is o.l.d.”

I’m not kidding!  Here I am pleased a peaches to be on a bike and feeling fit as a fiddle with my family adventure when each and every other biker has 15-20 years on Dan and me!  W.h.a.t is up with that!?  Dan’s reply was, “Well, it is the middle of a Thursday afternoon.  All other parents our age are at work.”

Not us.  Here we are out riding bikes with the kids.  Hummmm…. What’s wrong with this picture?  Is this right?  So, what did we do yesterday for the first week of the summer vacation?  We played in our new 40 foot beautiful swimming pool.

As we start up again, I have to tell you that I was feeling a little guilty.  Peddling along for the next leg of our journey, I was wondering about it all and just quietly thanking God for blessing me with this family outing.  Although with a pang of guilt, I was wondering why I’ve had this weirdness about it all.  Dan passes me and says, “Yup, I would have been working in DC instead of out biking.”

Oooooooh!  Now I get it.  The reason I am blessed with enjoying my hott-hubby Dan 24/7; the explanation for his daily presence home and not “on the job”; the cause of my permanent honey-moon (wink-wink) is that Dan has PD.

Parkinson’s Disease.  Like a thorn in Dan’s side, “PD” moved in to our house four years ago and life has never been the same.  At times, I struggle with it’s daily presence and I give God a head ache when I see my hott-hubby dealing with the physical challenges.

But yesterday as I rode my bike behind my crazy crew, I watched Dan with Levi on the tag along.  About every 15 minutes, Dan would call back to Levi:  “Hey Levi, stop following me!” or “Levi, are you still there?”  Levi responded in a fit of giggles because

Of course he is!  Their bikes are connected!  And, God said to me,

“So am I!”

I almost crashed.  He is, you know.  God tapped me on the shoulder right then and said, “Excuse me, can I tell you something?  I am always connected to you.  I am right here.  Always.”

Oh….  Ok.  TYPD.  “Thank You Parkinson’s Disease.”  Thank you God for yet another PD reminder with some “sizzling hott summertime fun!”

“To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”  – 2 Corinthians 12:7-9

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