Mom's Visit

You know, there is something about being dressed up on a bike that excites me. So often, lately, I've been in work clothes, which for me are workout clothes, and I just throw my Columbia jacket on over them. Especially when it's raining it doesn't make much sense to wear one of my collection of beautiful coats. But today, I took the day off. My mom is flying in from the east coast and I wanted to be able to pick her up this afternoon, take her out to dinner and get her home before she crashed from jet lag and "I had to get up way before the crack of dawn to catch my flight" exhaustion. So, I got up early, got in my two hour workout and realized, Hey, it's sunny! Seems like a good day to be a well-dressed cyclist.

December was not a good month for me. Some stomach issues that started with the medicine I was taking for my back got really exacerbated by the stress of the holidays. I spent the month of December sick or in fear of getting sick and after puking up Christmas dinner cried uncle and went to the doctor. The treatment: take a couple of medicines and let your stomach rest for a month. Bland diet: no coffee, no tea, no chocolate, no alcohol, no citrus, no vinegar, no dairy and as low fat as possible. My husband, the world's greatest man, truly the most supportive spouse ever, has been doing the diet with me and as a result we have nothing fun to eat in our house.

So, I thought I'd go on a ride to the store to get some fun food for my mom to eat and while I do it enjoy the sunshine, the blue sky and the kind of thrill that I get (and I can't be alone) from riding a bike in a tapestry coat, skinny cords, and my Lucchese cowboy boots. That sounds like too much fun.

It really wasn't that cold out although snow is being predicted tonight or tomorrow. I was loving my ride and soon I was at the store. Okay, what to get. Mom's favorite foods. I already got regular coffee and half-and-half. She'd be zombie without those. Pretzels! She loves pretzels. Oh and cheddar cheese. Pretzels and cheese are the way to go. Yogurt always a good bet. I know she loves raspberries so I'll get two of that flavor. She loves sandwiches so how about some black forest ham and some Genoa salami. Yeah, that should make her feel right at home.

Before I knew it, I was back on my bike, happy that I remembered my gloves and pedaling home, scarf blowing in the breeze. An errand that could be pure drudgery in a car turned into an exciting adventure thanks to my two wheels and a clear, sunny day.