Flowers from J - grown in her friendship garden. She honored my love for daisies. Aren't they spectacular??!


One of the entries onto the trail I love. Fred Meijer is a mighty, mighty man in our neck of the woods. He uses his almighty dollars to make places beautiful and healthy.

The quarter in the road.

07/14/09: 8.5+ miles. An interesting day w/ my trike.

I did actually trike on 7/14, but am a day or so late recording the event. For many reasons. One, I was non-stop on the go via some form of transportation w/ errands & appts. Two, I fell asleep b/f typing. Tues morning I awakened w/ my glasses underneath me in my bed, in perfect condition. Odd, b/c sometimes I can just clean a lens and it will pop out. Wed morning I awakened to my cell phone being in my bed. I guess I'm falling asleep hard & fast.

While in PT, I rec'd a voice msg from Chaplain Dave w/ the fire department, which assisted in my rescue. After a warm conversation he invited me to the fire dept mtg later this week to meet the persons who were "there". I initiated this invitation a few weeks ago and am honored they are inviting me.

On the way home from PT I saw the man who lives in the red house just a few feet from the scene of the accident. ~ Two wks ago I saw him walking down the driveway from his mailbox and told myself that if I saw him outside again I was gonna muster up my courage and introduce myself to him. Well, there he was. Walking back to his house from the mailbox again. I turned into his drive, rolled down my window, introduced myself and asked if he remembered the accident from 01/22/08. He absolutely did. He aided the rescue workers by managing traffic until the police arrived to set up a detour. ((Aside: my younger son was 10-15 minutes traveling behind me on this same road. He was one of the first vehicles to be re-routed along the detour. I'm so thankful he was not one of the cars that passed by the scene. He told me later that he was thinking about calling me around the time of the accident to let me know he was on the road with me somewhere. I was returning from a class in GR; he was traveling to our town from GR; he usually called me to inform me of his ETA. For "some reason" he did not call me that morning. He struggled w/ guilt over not being there for me. This son o' mine was there continuously for me in the hospital. He picked my nose for me when I couldn't. He fed food to me. He kissed my feet.)) Back to the 72 yr old man. Yesterday was his birthday; I sang "Happy Birthday, Dear Vernon" to him. He was glad to know I became okay. He said I was in bad shape & the rescue workers were very concerned for me. I still cannot comprehend what happened & how my body survived. Much of me died in that accident. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.

While the oil, etc was being changed in my vehicle, I took off on my trike, planning for just a short trip since the oil changing place was not busy. Well, once I got a taste of 26.2 mph going down hill by the golf course I was hooked. I wanted to go farther and faster. Most of this trike I stayed in the 3rd big gear (gear #s in the low 20's). I wanted to work my legs as hard as they could tolerate. Plenty of people were out biking, walking, walking dogs - why doesn't anyone walk a cat? Ended up taking the truck route back to the apts behind the HS, returning to the oil changing place. Great workout! Near the HS there is a quarter melted into the pavement. Often while running I'd check to make sure the quarter was still there. It was a landmark feature.

I enJOYed linner (lunch-dinner) w/ a frd, J. She brought the fabulous flowers pictured at the top. I am a blessed person to have such wonderful friends, like J. Thanks, again for the company and take home souvenir :-) I took them into Subway and sat them on the table. Our table was the only one decorated w/ flowers.

I am exhausted. I'm in the final weeks of wrapping things up at the homestead to go south for a few months. I am taking my trike w/ me! And I'll be exploring totally new areas on three wheels. I am eager to get there, which will mean details here have been finished. This is not a permanent move - just for a semester. I'll be closer to family (and "old" friends) which will allow me to participate in their world and celebrations for a few months. And I'll be teaching a class at my undergrad alma mater. This will be exciting. We are calling it a "work re-entry trial". I anticipate much support and feedback to help me get back on my feet :-) Anything that happens will be great!

Blessings Abound!

~A~