Life Lessons
The rain has been hanging around the last couple of days, and since I'm not one to ride in the rain, the cycling hasn't been happening. Today, after attending my niece's graduation party and becoming agitated over a petty grievance I have concerning my family, all I kept thinking during the party was I have to get out to clear my head. Thankfully, when we left the party, the clouds and rain had moved east. I couldn't get home and clipped into the pedals fast enough.
I have three brothers and two sisters. Being the fifth child of six along with liking being alone, I have never been especially close to any of my siblings. We get along alright, but years ago I realized my siblings just don't seem all that interested in keeping in touch, so I stopped trying to build lines of communication that seemed to go pretty much one way. Today, yet again, after arriving at my niece's party, I found out that most of my siblings were in town. The fact that they didn't feel inclined to let me know they'd be in town was what made my blood boil. Not once have any of them gotten in touch to say, "Hey, we'll be there on this date at this time. Let's go out for a drink." Never. Hubby looked at me when we walked in and saw my siblings and knew right away what I was thinking and feeling.
After three hours of keeping a smile plastered on my face, I was more than ready to hit the road for a ride. Being Sunday evening, the traffic was light, and a slight breeze was blowing, which kept me cool. I have a favorite route that takes me out into the countryside, along rolling hills. One road in particular is flat, flat, flat, giving me the opportunity to see if I can get the speed up to 30 mph. I took the opportunity to test the legs this ride just to blow some steam. By the end of my 25 mile ride, I was feeling much better.
One lesson I learned after leaving home and beginning a family of my own was siblings should be much closer than what I am with mine. As such, I've worked hard to help my children like each other and want to be with each other, and when they cuddle up together on the couch to watch a movie, or when they pull out a board game and play for hours on end together, I feel two things: happy that they truly enjoy being with one another, and sad that my siblings and I barely talk. I know I need to put my energy where it's most effective, where I'll get the highest returns, and that's right here in my own home, with my children who I truly believe became a part of my life to help me learn lessons just like this one.
I have three brothers and two sisters. Being the fifth child of six along with liking being alone, I have never been especially close to any of my siblings. We get along alright, but years ago I realized my siblings just don't seem all that interested in keeping in touch, so I stopped trying to build lines of communication that seemed to go pretty much one way. Today, yet again, after arriving at my niece's party, I found out that most of my siblings were in town. The fact that they didn't feel inclined to let me know they'd be in town was what made my blood boil. Not once have any of them gotten in touch to say, "Hey, we'll be there on this date at this time. Let's go out for a drink." Never. Hubby looked at me when we walked in and saw my siblings and knew right away what I was thinking and feeling.
After three hours of keeping a smile plastered on my face, I was more than ready to hit the road for a ride. Being Sunday evening, the traffic was light, and a slight breeze was blowing, which kept me cool. I have a favorite route that takes me out into the countryside, along rolling hills. One road in particular is flat, flat, flat, giving me the opportunity to see if I can get the speed up to 30 mph. I took the opportunity to test the legs this ride just to blow some steam. By the end of my 25 mile ride, I was feeling much better.
One lesson I learned after leaving home and beginning a family of my own was siblings should be much closer than what I am with mine. As such, I've worked hard to help my children like each other and want to be with each other, and when they cuddle up together on the couch to watch a movie, or when they pull out a board game and play for hours on end together, I feel two things: happy that they truly enjoy being with one another, and sad that my siblings and I barely talk. I know I need to put my energy where it's most effective, where I'll get the highest returns, and that's right here in my own home, with my children who I truly believe became a part of my life to help me learn lessons just like this one.
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