I will be 45 years old in a few days.
I'm heading towards 50, which is half a frigging century old. I got
the grey hairs to prove it, and the wrinkles... but to look at the
positive side, more wisdom as well.
What I really want to celebrate is the
fact that I can keep up with my teenage boys when we go on one of our
crazy adventures.
Okay, I'm lying.
I can hang with them, because
they wait for me. We went mountain biking in the Methow Valley last
week, and we did some pretty gnarly single track biking.
It was heaven. It was sweaty,
endorphin-pumping, calorie-consuming, heart-pumping, teeth-clattering
fun.
My husband came, too, and we kept
high-fiving each other on being able to keep up with the young-uns.
Sort of.
You guys, our two day camping and biking trip was so much fun, so gorgeous, so bonding, so lactic-acid producing, so delicious. You can't believe the amount you food you get to consume when you burn ten thousand calories a day.
I absolutely love the Methow Valley, especially early on in the season when it's not too hot yet, and when the tourists haven't over run it yet.
Not that you meet too many people in these alpine huts you can only get to with some serious sweat equity.
One of the reasons I've been feeling so emotional about this trip is because I don't know how much longer our teenagers want to hang out with us, their parents. Soon, there will be girlfriends, and peers, and other things to do.
There are some huge changes on our horizon, and I'll let you know about them some other day.
It has been feeling pretty summery here in the Pacific Northwest.
Of course, as I'm writing this, a rain front is hitting us, but still... We've had some nice hot weather, conducive to swimming and kayaking at Baker Lake.
Another plus of the heat is being able to dry the laundry on the line. It's nice when the kids help with it.
The roses have been going nuts with all this heat. I get drunk sniffing them whenever I walk by.
Other flowers in our garden are equally spectacular. I'm a serious beauty-lover, so our homestead is overflowing with it. Overflowing with flowers and free-range chicken poop. The paradox of country living, man.
I will leave you with images of all the track meets we've been cheering at. The boys and Eva are starting to specialize in the 800 meter race, getting ribbons for second and third place for their age groups.
It was so sweet to watch the brothers coach their little sister, who never ran on a track before. They ran with her on the grass, to tell her to slow down or pick it up.
My voice gets sore on the last 100 meter stretch, when all of them give it their best and kick in for a sprint. Yes, I am competitive. (Did you know that I was the 100 meter unbeat sprinting champion in my school in Germany as a teenager? Yup. I beat the boys in my class every single time. I told you I'm competitive).
The lake picture definitely reminds me of Switzerland except the mountains are not quite so tall and the water not so turquoise. Such uplifting beauty you live in. Eye vacation! My daughter is 25 and she has her own life on the coast and is doing well. We don't talk every day but we talk a lot and we visit as much as we can. I know this is a cliche but it does go by very fast. God gave us memory so we can visit the good times past any time we want. I feel grateful for that. That's the way of life. You are doing what so many busy parents can't. Outdoor adventures and home school. You know that's one really good reason for home school. To keep your offspring close as possible for as long as possible. Then they fly!
ReplyDeleteEye vacation! Now there's a tag line!
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