My Cycling Diary: Back to Normal .....

(Cumberland River, Tennessee)

Back to Normal? My friend, Michelle’s Husband Torry actually asked me this. We were standing at a live venue in Nashville, listening to my new favorite band the Avett Brothers. http://www.theavettbrothers.com/site.php Banjos and stand up bases being whaled on like a electric guitar, their body language was of a rock band not a progressive blue grass band. The crowd was a mix of Vandy plucked frat boys and southern new age hippies….a unique breed commonly characterized my scraggly hair and natural clothing, river sandals, the ability to make a good home brew, usually seen munching on gorp, and of course a thick southern accent that rings in your ears as they say “dude”.

I paused and kinda giggled. I actually have no idea what normal is anymore. I did not know what to say or know what to think… I just said I guess…well not really.

Normalcy, something I had too much of in my past life. Monday –Friday…Get up at 5:30am-sharp, work out-a bike ride if I was lucky, go to work for 9 hours and stare at a computer screen and try not to get too stressed out that I have to run and hide in the bathroom- if I was lucky, come home and make dinner- if my ex-husband was lucky, my evening excitement was looking forward to my favorite reality show-if it was my turn to pick the show, and well going to bed early so I could study-that always put me to sleep. Weekends were not much better. Saturday- clean the house, go to the grocery, do my homework, brush the cat, go the gym. Sunday…study, and wait around till my ex-husband woke up from working the swing shift as a police officer, then yes…..the highlight of my week was a bike ride, maybe a mountain bike ride if I was lucky, with my ex-husband. This was Normal, my normal and I was happy with it. Because I can be happy with anything.

This life that I lead now is not normal to me, but the longer I live in my new skin, see with my widened eyes; I begin to feel that I will get use to this new normal. Ever day is different, my office moves as I do, I ride in wonderful places with different people everyday, scale beautiful rock walls,

(Kings Gap in Tennessee)
eat dinner at trendy restaurants with friends, make 3 course Spanish meals for my family,

attend cultural festivals on weekends,

see live music during the week days, commute to yoga class on my bicycle 4 days a week, rummage at local flea markets,

have tea parties with my grandmother, get all dressed up to go see the new art exhibit at the museum, spend the afternoon taking a cat nap with my cat calvin, I take my dogs for walks, I plan road trips to see old friends, and plan with new friends adventures to explore foreign lands.

Yes I do get overwhelm. If you know me personally, you know I am a goal setter, and I tend to set too many goals that eventually consume me. I have learned allot about balance, something I struggle with every day. I actually follow a list, I drive to follow a life list of 5 things to do everyday to bring life balance to my new world. No matter if I am in Nashville, Spain, Washington, Atlanta, Italy or in my car driving to the next destination on a road trip; I plan my day with 5 things “to do” in order to bring normalcy, routine to my life. With this way of life, anxiety is minimal, I appreciate all that I have now, I have reached a happiness that I never knew was possible

With living my life this way I focus on the day, live in the now, but am still conscious of the future. Five simple things having to do with work/school, my family/friends, my spirit, what I put in my body and well.. my bike; all brings balance and a normalcy to this life that I lead….I will maybe share more about them with you in the future.