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Reality Check

I went out for a ride this afternoon on my road bicyle. It was in the upper fifties, so as far as temperature goes, it was almost perfect. I had an opportunity to go on a mountain bike ride this morning, but passed because I didn't get a confirmation back in time from those going. Well, that was my excuse. Really I should have showed up anyway, but I was thinking it was going to be really cold and I wasn't sure I could hack it. Five years in the tropics of Ecuador hasn't helped me at all with my ability to deal with cold. Won't be long now before riding outdoors will be a bit more difficult, what with temps dropping, and rain making the trails muddy, and Standard time bringing us darkness late in the afternoon. All that said, I enjoyed my ride over to our new house and back. A pleasant way to spend an hour any day of the year. Good roads, flat roads, cool temp, not too windy. I was excited to see that two guys were hard at work putting shingles on the roof. I was so glad to see that. I knew they had stacked shingles on the roof yesterday, but I could only hope they'd actually work on Saturday. They won't be able to finish until Monday, but that should work out fine. There has been a chance of rain today, but that's supposed to be clearing up tomorrow and into next week. We've had insulation and sheetrock in the house for over two weeks, and no proper roof. Then we ended up having rain showers over the past several days, which wasn't a good thing. The roofing contractors here are maxed out, because there is so much new construction going on.

As I arrived back home and hung up my bicycle, I was lamenting the fact that my bicycle is getting close to twenty years old and that my riding shoes are wearing out. Due to current financial priorities, those are things I can't replace right now. But, when it comes right down to it, I had to realize that I have quite a lot that I am really thankful for. It's not how low-tech my bicycle is, it's how I'm blessed with good health. It's not that I gave up that great paying job at the county office of education five years ago, and those side jobs at Fresno Pacific University, it's that I have a roof over my head, a comfortable bed, and food on the table three times a day. I think of the people in Sumatra still without a proper house, and a reliable source of drinking water, or the people in Pakistan who are facing winter in tents without sufficient food. I am blessed. Why me?

Posted by David at October 29, 2005 04:09 PM