Today...I am alone. A rare moment that I am alone all day into the night while DH is away with my Stepson, Daughter is at her dad’s, and of course Son is away at school. I have so much to do, I should be working but I haven't been.
I did go on a nice ride. My first ride out of the neighborhood and across the major, major intersection on the corner all my myself. I have never crossed that one alone. Either DH is with me or Son has been with me and they always look out for me. This time it was just me. And that big intersection is scary. There is always somebody who pulls into the crosswalk, always somebody making a right on red into the lane as I am crossing. I have learned to be so defensive and careful. It is funny how much of my fear I have lost since I started riding again a year ago. Now my only fear really is falling!
I rode down to the zoo, about 3.5 miles, and enjoyed an orange and Primal Strip vegan jerky on a bench under a tree. I was just going to ride around and get some mileage in, but on the way into the zoo my stomach started to hurt and I suddenly realized I was starving! It was nearly 1 o’clock by this time and I had only had fruit all day. Glad I had grabbed the orange on my way out just in case...and I always keep a couple of Primal Strips in my bike bag.
After I finished snacking I rode around the zoo's large parking lot, then got bored just riding in big circles, so I rode back towards home, stopping at Publix to buy some organic tofu for my dinner tonight.
The man in line in front of me was an enormous man, both in height and build with those extra, extra-large bodybuilder muscles. He was buying orange juice and had another bag with a big tub of protein powder that bodybuilders use. He looked over at me with my biking shorts and shirt, helmet in hand, and backpack and then looked down and scanned my purchases of organic tofu, organic dried cranberry and nut mix, and tempeh. He looked up and smiled. It was so funny...we both had that awareness and acknowledgment of how into health and fitness we both were, yet in such different forms.
Coming home to the empty house I parked the bike and set up my tofu on my repurposed George Foreman Tofu Press to press out. Oddly, I am alone all the time during the week, but between the school runs, meetings, produce pickups and everybody coming home at dinner time I am not always so alone. Or my alone time is broken up into small chunks punctuated by stuff I have to do, mostly for others in between periods of frantically working to catch up.
On this weekend when there is a major scouting event and I didn't go, I am alone the weekend....into the night, with meals on my own and all my time my own. I have mixed feelings about this. Part of me feels so lonely. Part of me is enjoying the rare taste of freedom with nobody to have to do things for except me. Part of me wonders how the time is flying by so fast and I haven't accomplished much of what I set out to accomplish with all my alone time this weekend.
At least I got out and got some exercise in. I have been mourning the fact that all I do is sit and I was determined to get out riding this weekend and get over my fear of riding out in the community alone without the protection of somebody stronger. I have an outing planned for tomorrow as well.
The pictures have been scarce lately. I had gotten a new camera last Mother’s Day but I unwisely chose a bigger bulkier one that doesn’t fit on my bike so easily! I will have to borrow DD’s camera that she doesn’t use so I can get some good updates on here!
I do have a great dinner planned for tonight for me and me…a vegan version of Tom Kha, the Thai coconut soup. So Yum!!! Hopefully I will be motivated enough to share the pix…and the recipe.
