"Nature is not a place to visit. It is home." - Gary Snyder

 Last weekend Alexander, Sophia, Steve and I went camping.  

Our campsite:

Our goal was to ride a bike path in Wisconsin with 1/4 and 3/4 mile train tunnels.  We ended up riding about 30 miles. The ride provided a lot of variety - cows munching on grass and making loud horn like noises, small towns, forests, and of course, tunnels.  The first time through the tunnels we used flashlights.  The second time through we didn't.  It was fun relying on our other senses. 

 

 

My pretty Sophia.

Alexander and Sophia

Steve, who did most of the work on setting up the campsite and getting bikes together!

Entering the tunnel

 

Whenever I am in nature I always wish it was more of my home and not just a place that is visited.   

*I used one of our photos for my new blog header.  I love using photos on my blog that remind me of happy days.   

Always a New Path To Take

After two awful nights of pain in my hips that I haven't experienced in a LONG time, I am back to being in good shape again today.  With another lovely day here in Chicago, I took my bike out for another solo ride as I waited for Alexander while he was in class.

Today I started out on the same path but went the opposite direction from my ride on Monday.  This path soon lead me to a new path that I didn't explore on the last ride..  I felt excited trying out a new  path and rode along happily until the path came to an end. I then turned around and followed a path I was already familiar with.  It too led to other paths I didn't take on Monday.  One of the paths I chose to follow was less traveled, which seems to be the path I tend to like taking in many areas of my life.  I followed it for a while enjoying the quiet, the butterflies, the sun, and the prairie flowers.  After a while, this path also ended and I once again found myself turning around and following the same path again, yet this time I knew that no matter how many times I took the same path, it would always be different.  I would always run into different people, always see a plant I missed the last time through, and always be thinking something different each time I took the same path.  I might decide to keep following the familiar path or I might decide to branch off and see where the new path would take me. There were always new possibilities.  Quite possibily the new path might take me to another dead end or it might take me down the path that would lead me to exactly where I want to be.

These paths I followed today reminded me much of my experience with rheumatoid arthritis and life in general.  I am often following a path that has been followed by many, yet me going down the same path will never be the same as it was for someone else.  With rheumatoid arthritis I have taken off on several familiar and unfamiliar paths and many have ended up as dead ends.  Not that the dead ends didn't provide growth for me, it just meant it was time to turn around and look for different possibilities.  There has never been a path I have followed that didn't provide something for me, just as each path I rode on today provided something for me until it was time to turn around and rethink my next steps. 

This ride today gave me time to think about other life issues besides rheumatoid arthritis, mainly how I have been feeling lately about our unschooling journey.  For the last three years or so I have felt we have needed to move onto a new path with our unschooling, yet the familiar path has been the easiest since my flares left me with little other energy.  This last year I have gained lots of strength and energy as the inflammation has diminished. The familiar path, that seems to be going nowhere, is now shouting out louder to me that we have been down this path way too long.  It is time to adventure out and see what new paths are ahead for us. 

Riding today made me realize that although I am a person that needs security and structure, I am also a person that loves change.  In fact I crave change.  I don't always embrace it right away, but I need it and when it comes, I feel good.  I think that is why I have been able to embrace rheumatoid arthritis. For me it is a continous change that forces me to look deeper into who I am and what I am doing.  Now that my health is back, it is time to do that same thing with our unschooling journey.  It is time to branch off and possibly away from people that we have shared this journey with for a long time.  It is scary because right now we don't know what path to take and it even seems like there aren't any paths branching off from the familiar one right now.  That is the part that makes me feel confined.  I know the change is there, but I don't see the possibilities, YET.

This ride was awesome for me today.  It cleared my mind and put a lot of things into perspective for me. As I rode I felt more sure that even though we don't know what path we will take next with unschooling, I do know that like with rheumatoid arthritis, the paths will always open up and something new will be around the corner waiting for us.  Life is always full of new opportunities, sometimes they just don't come to us as quickly as we would like.

To top off my ride today I ran into a fox.  It was just the two of us, me on the path and he in the prairie grass.  I slowed down to look at him and he stopped to look at me.  I knew not to waste my time getting my camera out but instead needed to just enjoy this beauty from nature while it was in front of me.  After a few seconds he seemed to have had enough of me and turned around.  He went down his path and I went down my path, just as it should be.   

A Wise Choice

Today I made a wise choice. Rather than sitting at Starbucks with my laptop, waiting two hours for Alexander's drivers education class to finish, I had him load my bike in the car.  I parked the car in the drivers education lot and then rode my bicycle the 1.5 miles or so to the forest/prairie preserve and rode for about 1.5 hours.

This was my first time on this bike trail.  It was an easy trail with few hills which was exactly what I needed today.  I woke up around 2am to hip pain that pretty much kept me awake the rest of the morning and hoped the ride would work out whatever was going on.  The funny thing is that when I was riding, the hip pain was completely fine but as soon as I got off the bike, it hurt like crazy again.

I had a great time riding by myself, something I seldom do.  I was craving the sunshine and it was 100% appreciated this morning.  Although this bike ride didn't stop the hip pain, it did allow my mind to wonder somewhere else than on the pain.  I call that a wise choice for today. 

 

A Bike Riding/Grocery Shopping Adventure

I have always wanted to live in a place that I could easily ride my bike to the grocery store, library, or any other place I need to go.  When we moved away from Kansas, that was our intent.  Although we live in a lovely place, it isn't super bike friendly. 

However, a few weeks back Alexander and I were discussing the cost of gas and ways that we could reduce our driving.  He asked, "What places do we drive to regularly?"  We agreed that the library (6.5 miles round trip) and Trader Joe's (8.5 miles round trip) were two places we drive to every week that are within the mileage we felt we could ride our bikes to without any problem. 

Once we made the decision to use our bikes on a weekly basis, we needed something to carry our groceries in.  Steve found what looked to be a great bike trailer for us and yesterday afternoon Alexander and I set out for our first shopping trip via bicycles. 

While we were shopping, I kept saying, "I am nervous this isn't all going to fit in the trailer."  Due to some impressive problem solving by Alexander, it did all fit.  As we were jumping on our bikes to head home, we ran into a neighbor and talked with her a minute.  Then we were ready to take off.  But yikes, there was a problem.  The trailer, which only has one wheel, was too heavy and kept trying to pull Alexander's bike down.  He tried a few things, but the trailer was just too heavy.  So, we thought fast and found our neighbor who was still in the parking lot.  Thanks to her our groceries made it home via mini van while we rode our bikes home.

We returned the trailer last night and will look for something that fits our needs better.  As Alexander and I talked about our trip, we decided it wasn't a failure.  Getting on our bikes and riding to the grocery store made an everyday event more like an adventure.  We had fun working on the problem at hand together and felt good getting outside on a cool day.  And, we were so thankful that our neighbor was out shopping at the same time we were yesterday!

True To My Nature

My kids have never been interested in competitive sports, however, they have always enjoyed being active.  As soon as the kids were off training wheels we were out bike riding.  Sophia will often take rides alone as well as continues to ride with us as a family and Alexander has become Steve's primary biking buddy.  They both seem to enjoy long walks in nature.  When they were little we went to the playground and played "follow the leader".  One of us was the leader and we did as many different things on the equipment as we could - jumps, leaps, hangs, etc.

In the last two years, Alexander has shown that he really likes to work his body hard.  When we take walks, he is always jumping over benches and large rocks.  He loves a good game of tag where there are at least one or two other players who make him run his fastest.  (Mack, a homeschooling dad in our group makes him run really hard and Alexander loves when he plays.)  At fourteen though, he is finding it harder and harder to engage his friends and sister in a game of tag.  He tried doing some free weights, but it wasn't his thing - too boring.  He loves running and will often go for a three mile run.  He doesn't keep a schedule of running though, he just seems to go when his body tells him he needs to. We have been discussing options for him so he feels challenged, yet honors the type of person he is. 

This morning as I was reading articles on diet and watching videos, I discovered MovNat: Explore Your True Nature.      On Erwan Le Corre's site he shows how he works out using nature as his equipment.  It is truly motivating (and sexy).   It reminds me of when we played "follow the leader" and worked our bodies in a variety of ways.

Check out this video of one of his workouts:



This summer we went to Starved Rock when my sister was visiting.  The kids wanted to climb and jump on everything.  Of course, it scared the pants off me, but I admired that they were using their own personal strength and determination while also taking risks.  I can't imagine that we would ever take this workout as far as Erwan Le Corre, but I do like the idea of incorporating more natural types of exercise into our daily routine.  This workout tells me again how important it is to listen to more of what our children are saying and feeling.  I know I often act out of fear when it comes to my kids and prevent them from trying out things that "might" harm them rather than listening to what feels right to them.  I think it is right to explore our bodies to their limits and kids are constantly trying to do that.....we just get in their way.  This video was a good reminder to stay out of their way and let them work their bodies.

*I completed an entire yoga routine today.  I am back on my supplements and the pain that was trying to make its way back into my life has disappeared again. 

Lake Shore Ride

Yesterday morning Steve, Sophia, Alexander and I went out for breakfast and then headed downtown for a relaxing bike ride. We started at Lincoln Park Zoo, stopped off at Navy Pier to play a bit and then continued on past Buckingham Fountain, Shedd Aquarium and the crowds of people heading to the Bears game.

This ride was slow paced and easy. The most difficult part was weaving in and out of joggers, walkers, and other bikers. All four of us knew that we could stop as often as we wanted to explore and have fun which made this type of ride different than when we ride forest preserves. Plus, I liked this ride because it was fun to watch the numerous people out and about exercising, talking, and enjoying the day and I like having the city on one side of me and Lake Michigan on the other as I ride.

Visualization Helps During RA Panic Moment

We had an awesome ride today. The weather was humid which slowed me down a bit but I did fine. The trail today wasn't as busy as yesterday which was great because it has more downhills so you can go as fast as you want. I love that! After a difficult climb up it is awesome to glide all the way down. My shoulders relax, my mind feels clear and I am completely content with life.

On the drive to the forest preserve, I was thinking about how far I have come in the last year. Last summer my fingers were so stiff I didn't trust myself to pull on the brakes of the bike. My wrists and shoulders were weak and every bump hurt. My knees were swollen and peddling just hurt. This severely limited our riding time. This last week and a half I have felt energized by riding. It is almost as if my body can't get enough. I wake up looking forward to the day's ride. I go to bed tired, but it's a good tired.

With so many good days and more physical activity than I have had in a while, I have been reminding myself that any day I may wake up and my knee will be fully swollen and painful again. I know it can happen. I have been through this enough times. But, I keep visualizing myself the way I want to be. I see my left knee the size of my right. I see myself riding into November and putting biking gear on my Christmas list. I see spring coming and hopping back on my bike without any problems. Visualization can create great things and I am keeping those thoughts in my mind because that is my goal.

So, when I downloaded our photos from the ride, I saw how large my left knee still looks compared to my right and panicked. "Oh no! I am not doing as well as I thought!" The swelling has gone down a lot but to look at this photo, I can still see it has a long ways to go. This is when I discovered how far I have come. As soon as the panic entered my mind, I wiped it out. I have had over a week and a half of long rides, walking, and swimming everyday! I haven't had hardly any pain and I can feel my knee cap again. That is progress.

I decided not to focus on the negative but focus on the positive. Regularly visualizing good things for ourselves makes it easier to return to that place during panic moments. I removed the negative from my mind and replaced it with the photo below. Here we are 1/3 of the way through the ride. I sat on Steve's lap and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Sitting in his arms enjoying an activity we have both always enjoyed together is how I want to remember this day. I am making tremendous progress and although I still have a ways to go, I need to focus on where I have come rather than where I need to be.

The Bike Riding Continues!

Yesterday our plans for today changed. We were planning on getting up early and heading from the suburbs to Chicago to bike ride along the lake all day. We planned to start at Lincoln Park Zoo and follow the path down to Buckingham Fountain and then back. Then I realized yesterday that the Chicago Air and Water Show is going on this weekend. I was really disappointed. We haven't taken our bikes downtown all summer. But, instead of giving up our riding time completely, we decided to postpone that bike ride for two weeks (my mom visits next weekend) and instead to go to a forest preserve we haven't been to in a while. It is a shorter ride but still fun and gives us time to do some other things today.

The path we took today was pretty congested so the ride was slower than some of our other rides through forest preserves, but that just gave us more time to view the scenery! We saw about ten elk and one that was nursing. It was adorable. We shared the path with walkers, roller bladers, other bikers, fisherman, old people, young people, fat people, skinny people, couples, groups and singles. I enjoy seeing the variety of people that get outside to relax and enjoy nature, especially when you consider this preserve is about one to two miles outside of the Village of Schaumburg which is crazy busy with shopping, businesses and lots of traffic.

Today is in the high 80's so shade was good for everyone! (I know Wichita family...we have turned into wimps when we can't handle high 80's to low 90's. I am so ashamed.)

We decided not to stop and take pictures of the water, trees, paths, etc today but I did snap quick photos of my favorite fellow bike riders.

Alexander with his new Kona. Alexander and Steve always make sure all of our bikes are packed and unpacked. Thanks guys!

Sophia who moved up to Alexander's bike but will probably need a new bike by next summer the way she is growing. She is as tall as me. (Okay, I know 5'0 is not a great feat but I am not ready to be the shortest in the family.)

Steve adjusting the seat on Contessa (my bike). He always takes good care of me!

We have another ride planned for tomorrow. I am taking full advantage of my break from joint pain and making sure I enjoy the warm weather before it is gone.

An Active Week

This has been an active week for me. Besides walking Izzy, the kids and I have been bike riding and swimming everyday. I can't believe how much my knee likes the riding. When I first get on Contessa (my bike) my knee feels a little stiff, but within minutes I can feel the stiffness leaving and a good feeling taking its place. I wake up craving our bike rides.

Swimming this week has been a big deal for me because it was my goal this summer to get into the pool without feeling my joints tightening up. It has been great to get in and play with the kids. Yesterday they challenged me to swimming laps with them. It felt good to work my body to exhaustion. But, honestly I was surprised at how well the kids did. They would swim a lap and right away be ready for the next lap. Their endurance has improved a lot while I have been sitting on the sidelines.

I am happy with my week. It has felt full!