Bicycles and Memory Investments and A Little Bit of Screaming

Well, you've heard me say [whine, complain, lament] about how we have very little furniture. It is true. We have a budget that we need to adhere to and therefore, it will be a slow process of accumulation.  However, we have spent money on Sunday Fundays and recently we bought used bikes for all five us. So you may ask [wonder, criticize, admonish] us why we have routed funds to 'those' things instead of furniture. 

The answer, I believe, is grounded in relationship and family investment. This time of transition is tough. For all of us--in different ways. Many things have changed. Many things are still unknown. Yet, our anchor is the Lord because He is unchanging. He is faithful. He has given us each other and so we huddle up as a family and work through the transition. Sunday Fundays and outdoor activities, like biking (or indoor activities like movie nights or nerf wars or Wii), are ways to continue to connect as a family. That connection allows us to work through the bumps and blockades of transition TOGETHER in a healthy way. 

I wasn't able to really put all this in words until last night when a friend pointed out that we are INVESTING in MEMORIES (thanks Amber). YES! We ARE investing in memories. The material investment of furniture and decor (and new clothes) can wait.

So, let me leave you with a visual description of a memory my kids will likely carry with them throughout life. 

I mentioned--we all just bought used bikes. That included me. 

Let me share with you that I haven't ridden a bike since I was about 19 years old...and that didn't go well.  In fact, Jeff and I decided that for the sake our friendship at the time, we shouldn't bike together...perhaps EVER again. 

Before that, when I learned ride a bike as a child, I consistently crashed into the same stump of a tree EVERY time I tried to ride past it. Not kidding. It was pathetic. 

The first time I got a ten-speed bike, I wiped out on a patch of sand and slid into on-coming traffic. 

All that to say, bike riding is NOT in my skill set. You know what though, I LOVE my kids! They wanted to ride to the park to do 'school in the park' the other day. They were all excited that we ALL had bikes. So, I donned the only helmet that was left--which was a toddler-sized helmet. (Oh, and do you know when the last time I wore a helmet was....NEVER...because 'back in my day' we didn't wear helmets.) And OFF WE WENT! 

As we encountered the first downhill leg of our journey, I screamed all the way down, "I AM GOING TOO FAST! I HATE GOING FAST!!!!!!"  The kids thought this was hilarious! Glad I could provide some humor to this wretched field trip! 

We rode again today. I didn't scream this time. I am making progress. It is ALL a process after all.

[Enjoy some snapshots of this expedition below.]

 

My Bike. It has 18 gears. I know how to use 2 of them.

School in the Park

My Toddler-Sized Helmet. Notice the Goodwill price tag--classy!

Seeing this view on the way home makes me smile. T
he kids like to stop and just look--which makes me happy and
gives me a chance to kinda catch my breath.