When you are all done...

I wrote to you yesterday about us biking to the Honeybear and back... It was a fabulous outing, but there's more to the story (as there usually is).  When we started biking, we zipped down the hill on Ravenna and hopped on the Burke Gilman trail. As we biked the stretch from UVillage to Met Market, Taylor was frustrated that his bike was not seeming to go as fast as usual. He thought that there might be something wrong with his gears.  I tried to encourage him to switch gears and get it into an easier gear, but he was just seeming to get more frustrated.  I could tell that this might turn into a very long bike ride if each attempt to pedal just caused him to spiral out into even more frustration and complaining so I gave a quick call to Jason.  He did not pick up the phone when I called him the first few times, but finally he called back.  We agreed to meet on the Burke by the bike store near UVillage, and we then biked back that direction.

Jason thought it might have been something with Taylor's ball bearings as he had worked on his bike last weekend, but when he checked everything, it seemed it was all in working order. Jason and I talked quietly amongst ourselves and agreed that this problem was more in Taylor's mind and that his legs might have felt a slight uphill and that he was just feeling fatigued.  It's easier to blame it on the bike than to blame it on the fact that he did not want to give it some effort.  So, Jason rode with us a bit and encouraged Taylor along the way.  And then when we got to Met Market again, we gave Taylor the choice of whether to come with me and Anna or to go back with Jason.  Something must have switched gears in his head, and he decided that he would come with me and Anna.

He seemed to have gotten over that first hump.  We had gatorade (thanks to your giant Costco size can that you gave us when you moved) and some snacks to give them a little boost when they needed it.  After we had gone around 5-6 miles, I began asking them to look for the little statue of the two kids under the umbrella, and that distraction was good for a bit.  But when we got to the sign that says "Leaving Seattle", Taylor began to ask me how much further. I knew it really was not that far now, but I did not know exactly how much further.  At one point, when I could hear the cars on Lake City Way, I told him we really were close, but Taylor did not believe me as he told me it was the sound of the wind.  He got off his bike and threw his bike on the ground and said, "I'm done!" I tried to explain that it was JUST AROUND THE CORNER, but he was ready to quit.  Anna was tired too, but she did not throw her bike down- she just does not respond to her exhaustion like that.

I thought of our numerous conversations about the acronym "HALT".  I knew he was hungry, angry and tired in this moment (and maybe lonely too for all I knew).  I gave him some gatorade and asked him to just come a bit further. And lo and behold, we really only had another 1-2 minutes of biking before we arrived at the crosswalk to get to Third Place Books and the Honeybear.  When we got there, I told them how long they had biked already (11.36 miles as I had tracked it on my phone-- it was longer getting there because of the added mileage we had when we had to figure out Taylor's bike situation.) We got treats at the bakery, went to the bathroom and then started back so we could meet up with Jason for an outing with some friends later in the afternoon.

When we were sitting down at the restaurant, the bagel I got for Taylor worked its magic and the calories were helping him to regroup.  He and Anna both were so proud of how far they had gone. And they said they were totally up for the trek back.  And the way home really was a piece of cake.  Taylor's attitude was a 180 degree spin from the moment when he threw his bike down on the ground.

I was praying in the middle of this situation that God would help me make all of this into a learning opportunity and that this bike ride would not be a lost cause for the day.  As I talked to Taylor and Anna on the ride back about this, we talked about how important it is to know yourself and to learn the triggers of when you are about to lose it.  Knowing when we need to get food or when to take a break is such a valuable tool.  Anna told me that she remembered when she was hiking this summer and she just had to plod on when the trail seemed long. She said it was the same way when she was not sure how much further on the Burke Gilman to the end of our yellow brick road for the day.  She's got grit and she is building those muscles.  What I was able to tell Taylor too is that he also had that grit. He wanted to give up, he got off his bike, but he then got back on and kept going. He did it! And when we got to our friend's house that afternoon, they were both so proud of themselves.  They were asking when we could do it again and perhaps go with some other friends too along the way.  When it was all said and done, they had ridden 19 miles and they were walking on sunshine.

I am telling you all of this because I know it would be a topic we would talk about on a run, Elizabeth. Also, I am telling you this because I have a feeling that there are days when you feel like throwing your bike on the ground and shouting to the world, "I'm DONE!!!"

Remember to HALT..... Listen to your body and to your heart. Get some food. Get some rest. And then put one foot in front of the other and keep on going! (As far as you know, the Honeybear (or some equivalent there in Blantyre) might be right around the corner.)

XOXOXO