I love summer! It seems the time that I never have during the school year, I finally have during the summer. Time to enjoy my family, time to clean my van, time to just be. Yesterday I had an ultimate "time to just be" moment. I turned on my
Endless Boundaries podcast, took my bike to the "backhills" of Long Grove, and just started riding. Just me. Just me and my bike and some music in my ears. No one talking to me, no email in, no texts coming, no kids yelling, and no map.
 |
Full Disclosure: App Was running in background...
just didn't look at it ;) |
I didn't know where I was going, I just kept peddling. One road would end and I'd turn on another one. I felt different neurons starting to fire. The ones that were slowly atrophying
(do neurons atrophy?) started to light up. Instead of pulling out my iphone and using the map app to find my way, I looked for landmarks like a small field of large, orangish flowers to show me where to turn. I rode past a grandma and her granddaughter going for a walk. I smelled some freshly cut grass, I felt the splash of sprinklers as I coasted down a hill past someone's house, I peddled past the
Long Grove Country School wondering what the heck it could be.
Had those things always been there? It made me think how many times I had my eyes pointed toward my iphone instead of these wonderful sites. The horses and sheep grazing in the farm were a mere 10 minutes from my house, but I swear I had never seen them. The hill I rode down started about 100 yards past the temple of my childhood, but I never realized the road even continued 10 feet past there. What other things had I missed right before my eyes?
All these things went through my head as I listened to my music and continued to meander through these quiet streets. Finally, I decided to break my fast from technology and stop and take a picture of the beautiful sites I was seeing. I snapped this picture, and then went to snap another but "mother technology" knew better. As I tapped on the home button, the message "
Can't take picture, not enough memory available" popped up. I took the hint, put my headphones back in, and began peddling.
What a great ride!
