This post strangely bookends the previous one. I wrote about our journey to my parents house when we arrived, and only posted short updates to microblogs while awayI never sat down and wrote anything of substance. Now we are home (arrived back about an hour ago), I find myself sat in the study, catching up with social networks, and writing.
Perhaps it has something to do with the location ?We spent the week in Cornwall partaking in adventures at sea (read: spent the night on my Dad’s boat), and circumnavigating the globe (read: cycling 10 miles of the “Camel Trail”). Perhaps most importantly, I got to spent time with friendsnot friends made through school, or work, or neighboursrealfriends that I only know because we like each other, get on well together, and make the effort to stay in touch with for no other reason than to spend time together.
The world needs more realfriends.
So what did I learn this past week?I’m still fairly good at cycling! I kind of knew I would be because of the miles I lay down to work and back every day, but until you’re faced with a fairly steep hill in the middle of nowhere, and have no option but to stand on the pedals and start spinning them, you really don’t know what your body will do. On the way out of Pelynt after a day trundling along back lanes and towpaths, I had to climb out of the town and decided to test myself. While spinning a fairly high gear going up an endless hill, I recalled the cycling machine I had a go on last summerwhere I also suprised myself, and began listening to my lungsfeeling for the power to leave my legs. It didn’t really happen, and I was quietly happygrinning as I finally changed up at the top of the hill, and raced away across the countryside.
I need to get out on the bike, and really put some muscle and endurance back on my legssee how they cope with more than a couple of minutes of abuse.
As I mentioned before, this past week I was also reminded of the value of friendship, and the power it has to wipe away your cares. Being able both to be there for somebody else, and vice versa is incredibly powerful. It’s easy to become wrapped up in our career, or family, and forget both ourselves and the people around us that really matterour friends. I got to spend more time with perhaps my closest real world friend than I have in years this week, and it was great. We laughed, we listened to each other, and we threw barbed comments as only old friends can while out on the mountain bikes.
So.
We are home.
Tomorrow will mean gardening, tidying the house up, airing the house, washing clothes, and beginning to get ready for the start of the new school year. By Wednesday our house has to run like clockwork once again.