Oh, friends, I’m getting back on my bike today.
Over the last three weeks, I’ve had a really strange experience. I pulled a hamstring muscle, and then it became so tense that it pushed on my sciatic nerve to the point that I couldn’t sit comfortably for about three weeks.
I went to the doctor this week. I thought it might be good to have someone take a look, but I assumed they were just going to tell me to rest it, which is what I had been doing all along.
Instead, I was given a medication. I took one pill, and overnight I experienced such a dramatic difference.
The pain lasted more than twenty days, and that was no fun at all. But it has made me more mindful of people who live with chronic pain. I don’t begin to claim I understand that experience, because for me, I only visited that world for a little while. Now I’m finding my way back out. But I’m more mindful of people living with that experience.
I’ve missed riding around my town so much, especially knowing that warm weather is limited here.
I imagine many of us can relate to those moments when we have to step away from something we deeply enjoy. And when we return to it, we appreciate it all the more.
Maybe one of the best gifts we can give ourselves is the awareness that we are enjoying something while we are enjoying it. Life can change quickly, whether in a temporary way or a longer-lasting one.
But I don’t mean to be overdramatic.
Except for this:
I’m getting on my bike again today!!!!!!!
–-Renee Roederer
Smuggling Grace 