Remembering you with gratitude this week. Gratitude that an east coast business trip would end over a holiday weekend, close enough for a detour to visit with you. Deep down, I sensed it would be our last and so did you. At nearly 97, you’d outlived your closest friends and younger sisters. I heard how much you missed and were ready to join them, even if it was the briefest of somber mentions in a day spent catching up on family and retelling stories, laughing and shaking our heads.
Today, I’m grateful to remember that day and your lesson on attitude. That visit 8 years ago led into the same event approaching this week yet I haven’t been coming at it with the same delight; joyful anticipation replaced by fear and anxiety. So much gained and so much to lose. Then I remembered your lesson for experiencing life the way I cycle a century – it’s a ride, not a race. There will be painfully long climbs and blissful descents, headwinds to fight and a tailwind when you need it most.
Everybody finishes and no hardship is greater than the attitude you bring to it.
Whatever it brings, time to enjoy the ride! See you at the finish line.
Tracy
