I've been withholding information

It's true, I have been withholding information from the blogging world. It's okay, I think that's normal. This particular event I haven't shared, because it was SUPER embarrassing for me.

Here's the story:

I decided that I wanted to go on a bikeride. Can anyone even remember the last time I rode a bike? Didn't think so, me either.



The bike looked something like this. It was a mountain bike decked out with a basket on the front of it and a bell. So I put my ETBU hat on, grab my ipod shuffle, and I'm off. My route was just around the neighborhood near by our house.

These are some renditions (taken from google images) of what the side of the road may have looked like. The road was higher than the ground, so it was not level but raised way above the ground. To go to someone's house, you would turn DOWN into their driveway.

The grass was about this high. At one point, the road actually turned into a path and by that point I turned around.



From the street, the grass looked like this (please replace the black bear with a couple of chickens).



The grass, if standing in it, could have been this high maybe a little shorter.



As I am riding along a rocky, unpaved road a group of women are outside of their home (which is set DOWN off the road) working and hanging out. They look up, smile, and wave at me. So I smile and proceed to wave back. As soon as I wave back, I hit a rock big enough to move the tire or I lost control of the bike, or BOTH! Off I go, way down deep into that high, high, very high grass.



I look up, and the ladies are already at the edge of the road looking down at me! I am eye-level with the road and totally embarrassed. I was laughing in my head because of the picture from their point of view- one second I was there, and the next I was completely gone!

The bike landed on my left leg. So, my ankle was covered in dirt with a couple of scratches. Nothing serious at all. My ankle was a little swollen, even now if I jump, run, or step on my left foot the wrong way, I remember what happened that day!

So fast foward to yesterday.



This is the third week of the couch to 5k running program. I enjoy running the same route, because it makes me feel safer I guess. It's easier to calculate where I am time-wise, so I don't get stuck walking back the rest of the way. As I am running, this girl is walking the oposite direction. She stops and says," Are you the lady the fell?" and points to the very, very high grass where I had previously fallen. I said that that was me. This opened the door for a small conversation. She asked where I lived and if she could come visit me. I said sure.

I share this story with you (3 weeks late), because we never know how God is going to use those moments we wish to forget (although, this moment I consider quite funny, but a little painful too). He could open the door for a new friendship or something else unexpected. I also share this story to remind you that laughing at yourself and those moments that you wish to forget is okay! We need to loosen up and enjoy this gift of life that we've been given. We don't know when our last breath with be, so make the most of every opportunity-

laugh,



dance (even if you don't know how),



sing (even if you can't carry a tune),



but most of all...

live.