Standing at the Trailhead of Winter

Yesterday I rode my first 50 miler for the summer. I'd planned on doing at least 30, but once I got out and realized how good I was feeling, I just kept going. I ended up having to deal with a short detour, about three miles or so, because county workers were tarring and chipping a road I wanted to take. I was forced to hang a left, going further west than I'd planned. I thought all was just fine when I reached a road that went north, but I soon ran into a real gravel road. Sweetness and I don't do gravel. We tried that once. Things didn't go well. But the only other choice was to backtrack, adding on more miles. I assured Sweetness this gravel road would be fine. We'd go slow, which we did. About a mile in, we found a paved road we could turn onto. From there, we were back on track. The rest of the ride went without a hitch. Well, unless you factor in the guy driving the convertible at the four-way stop, who didn't see me (that's what I'm going with)...

The last few weeks I've been chillin'. Mostly just hanging around the house with Ado, enjoying being back in the space the kids and I called home when I decided to move out of my husband's place. The space with the living room windows overlooking the back yard and deck. The space where my three kids and I took a year to figure out where each of us was headed. Lovely Beautiful Daughter decided to go out on her own, and for the last nearly four weeks she's been in Taiwan on a teacher training exchange through the university. Funny Delightful Son moved to live on campus at the university he transferred to after finishing his community college courses. I miss them both, and when I moved back into this space, I could hear echos of them throughout the rooms. The first few days were kind of tough with them not being here, too. But Angel Baby is here with me. He has the entire upstairs all to himself. Three nice-sized rooms, each serving a different purpose. One room is his c...