Wildflower Writes

They said I was crazy.  After the fact. My husband and I had driven separate cars to church that morning, and driven one car home.  I thought it would boost my weight loss plan and save the earth, if I rode my bike to the church that afternoon for choir practice.  5 miles.  No big deal. As I wheeled through my suburban neighborhood, I planned on taking the same route I drive to church.  I started on the road, just like a car.  Technically, a bicycle is supposed to follow all the rules of the road a car does.  Logistically, most drivers of motor vehicles do not know this and do not respect a cyclist's right to be on the road.  Healthwise, safety dictated a sidewalk route whenever available.  When I decided a little air in my tires might make the ride more comfortable and expedient, I took a short cut through a side street rather than go to a complicated interesection to get to the gas station.  I felt completely safe as I took the alley behind the gas station to the main road.

I live in a medium-sized city.  It's similar in size to Novato, CA; Moore, OK; Euless, TX; Bowie, MD; and Chapel Hill, NC.  In case that helps any. It's not the type of town where everyone knows your name, but it does seem like it's a small world- perhaps 3 degrees of separation rather than 6.  My favorite hobby is introducing people to each other.  I like to be a resource.  In my dream world, I would be able to match every person with their ideal vocation; and fill every staffing need presented by local companies (at least the good ones).  You never know when the people you meet are going to be major players in your life or the life of someone you know.  You never know what fascinating stories they have to share, interests you may have in common, or connections they can introduce you to.  Networking is not merely a business tool.  It is a way of life.  It is meeting the variety of God's creation face-to-face, and helping to build connections between people who

What do people fear the most?  I've divided it into a few categories:  For many, it's the creepy crawlies:  snakes, spiders, mice, and bugs.  For others, it's larger creatures, like dogs, children, and terrorists (or children who are terrors). For some it's all things health related:  doctors, dentists, shots, cancer, vomiting, even death. For some it's social:  speaking in public, crowds, a job (or lack thereof), people in general, divorce, relationships, and the economy For some it's spatial:  heights, closed spaces, open spaces, flying For some it's natural:  dark, storms (and the aforementioned creepy crawlies) For some it's personal:  finances, insignificance, rejection, failure When it comes down to it, the primary motivations are avoiding discomfort, pain, and death. Even when it may seem irrational (1 in 9.2 million chances of getting killed on an airplane; 1 in 2.3 million chances of being killed by lightning).  One of the grea

My son inherited his mother's perfectionistic tendencies.  When he is unable to accomplish something, he gets frustrated easily and concludes he is horrible at the task and will never be able to do it.  He gets angry and cries. Today we tackled the bike again.  Before the snow fell last fall, he was able to go short distances as long as I got him started.  That's how it began this afternoon. By the time we got to the next-door neighbor's driveway, he had already fallen once.  By the time we got around the corner, I threatened to take him home if he was going to cry every time the bike went off the sidewalk and into the grass.  Little by little, with encouragement, and letting him pick himself up and start over a hundred times, he started to get the hang of it.  After cruising around the basketball court at the elementary school for awhile, he was completely confident in his ability to start, stop, and steer in the direction he wanted to go.  In fact, he was ready to g