Summer. Despite heat and humidity being two of my least favorite things to endure, they come with the season here in Northeast Ohio, and I'll be damned if I'll let either get the best of me enough to stop me from taking joy in the things that I love about Summer. Yesterday I finally got my ass on my bicycle for the first time since last November. I knew better than to head out for an epic ride of too many miles right off the rip after so long an absence. No matter how beautiful it is in the Cuyahoga Valley that I love riding in, I know I need to build up to bigger rides.
So I ended up with a ride that fell just shy of six miles and on a trail that had the perfect amount of hills to climb and descend, flats, shade and a bit of wind to battle on the return leg of the ride. All of this served to remind me of what my body should be doing several times a week on the regular. I knew there would be an adjustment period in getting back out there - today is a gym day, so no riding today. I'm pretty sure my legs and my arse are thankful. Weather permitting, I'll head out tomorrow morning and shoot for around 10-12 miles. I should be up to 10-30 miles by mid August. I'm a bit regretful that it's taken me this late in the season to get out there, but here's hoping for a nice Indian Summer around here and my riding in a lot of it.
Finally, one of my favorite things about Summer starts back up. These are the kinds of things that lift my spirit. In the last two months, there's been a few people and things that have chipped away at breaking my spirit. The things I can control, I will - and all I can do is not devote my energy, time and thoughts to things outside of my ability to control in anyway. Doesn't mean I can't coexist with such things, even if I can't eliminate them. I suppose the same could be said for any of the individuals who either intentionally or unintentionally try to break my spirit. To paraphrase Eric Cartman, Screw you guys, I'm tapping out of that bullshit.
I'm not someone who likes dwelling on negativity, and while it's not always easy to pull myself out of it at times, I'm done giving my energy, time & thoughts to anything or anyone that breaks my spirit. Life is just too short. I know what I bring to a given party and I'll toot my own horn when I know the tune. Again, life is just too short.
A year ago Facebook told me it was an old friend's birthday. I went to her page to wish her a happy birthday and realized we hadn't been in touch for a few months. What I hoped was that all was well with her and that the worries she'd mentioned during one of our last conversations, we now over with and her life was going better for her.
What I discovered when I went to her page to wish her a Happy Birthday, was that she'd been killed in a horrible automobile accident and had been killed by the woman who hit her car. That woman was intoxicated, and she was killed as well. I must have stared at my computer for five minutes just frozen - and it felt like an entire week. I thought back to when our friendship began, back to how I enjoyed every conversation I was ever in with her - no matter what the topic was. My friend. Someone's mother. Someone's wife. Someone's daughter. Gone. We all need friends in this journey, but who needs a mom, a wife and a daughter more than her family?
A year later and Facebook reminds me again that it's her birthday. Instantly I feel like I did on this day a year ago. I still can't believe she's gone. So yeah, life is too short for the people and things that would break, or take your spirit. My friend wouldn't want that. It's up to me not to have that. I hated this day a year ago for the news it brought to me. Not only was it horrible news, it was also a couple of months old by the time I learned of it. There was nothing I could do. I thought of the last time we spoke. I want to say it was an instant message volley about seeing Richard Thompson at The Kent Stage. It never came to be - I think because we both ended up getting busy. I wish it had come to be, because I saw RT with this friend and a couple of other dear friends back in my college days when he opened for REM at Public Hall. I don't recall much about that show other than RT was more enjoyable to all of us than REM was. How was I to know that all these years later, hearing RT's music would make me think of her - both favorably and now with a sad tone.
Yes indeed, life is far too short. Last night a regular customer came in. The guy happens to be a dear friend of my boss and his wife. The guy also lost his wife to cancer early this year. I'm struggling a bit today - I want to write about a couple of more joyous things about Summer, but right now I need to put the writing down and get some things done around here, hit the gym and try to make this day wonderful in ways that would make someone happy to hear about the next time I talk to them or bump into them. It's a beautiful day outside, I've got plenty to do on this day off and I need to hit the gym. Time to get moving - because sitting here writing is only going to pull me down today, and I need to seek out the people and things that lift me up. Uncertain as these times may be, there is still so much to be thankful for. Peace, good people - don't let anything or anyone, break your spirit. Time to go after some joy on this beautiful Summer day. It's out there somewhere, and I intend to find at least some of it. Whaddya know? A tad under 1900 words.
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