PHOTO: LuLu smelling the roses
THE LULU CHRONICLES
Enjoyed a twelve-mile bike ride the other day! Maybe LuLu and I will make our goal of fifteen miles on a regular basis before summer’s end. One of the things I noticed on the last ride was how much more detailed the scenery is when on a bike verses driving in a car. It dawned on me how much we miss in our hurried, blurring lives. The route I took was the one I used to drive everyday on the way to work. I saw the same houses everyday for six years. But Friday when I pedal my bike past those same houses, landscaping, shade, light, sounds, smells, delighted my senses—all things I missed zooming by with the windows up and making ‘to do’ lists in my head so I could hit the ground running at work.
I didn’t realize that one of the houses had a quaint little horse barn in the back. Another yard had a pond in its side yard surrounded by towering cattails. I waved at folks, some actually waved back. I actually stopped and picked some flowers out of a ditch. Yeah, they were wilted by the time I got them back home, but I sure did enjoy them in my basket for the rest of my ride. And, I must say, LuLu looked quite fetching all dolled-up that way.
When Gary was at the worst part of his cancer ordeal, everything thing fell away except for the truly important. My vision became so clear. My priorities made sense. The hustle and bustle of living stopped and was replaced with savoring all that was precious. That’s what it felt like the other day on my bike ride. I savored. I didn’t hustle. I saw my surroundings clearly for the first time on that route. The joy of just truly being in the moment was intoxicating. Nothing got past me—the cardinal perched in the cedar tree, the red door on a particular house, the breeze on my face… the ache from my cowgirl (just kidding, the cowgirl enjoyed the ride as well… sort of…).
That saying is true and life affirming: Stop and smell the roses. Some things are only with us for a season. Don’t miss them.
Happy rose sniffing,
deb
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