getting by with a little help from my friends.....

I have always felt blessed beyond measure to have good friends in this life....and YOU my friends are among the very best! Item #6 on the "Miller Bucket List" is to meet up with all of my FB friends in person, buy them something to drink and visit about life.  Yesterday, I was fortunate to catch up with 2 Facebook friends who are very "near and dear" to me-LeRoy and Anne Willis.

I first met this wonderful couple when I helped take care of Anne's mother, my dear friend, Winifred Peterson.  Winifred lived at the Wheaton House on the Mennonite Manor campus until she passed away a couple of years ago.  One of the great things about working at the Wheaton was the opportunity to become a part of a resident's extended family.  Anne and her 2 sisters, Mary Jo and Florence Marie made all of us who worked there feel as if we were "one of them".  They entrusted the care of their very special mother to us.  They knew that she would be well cared for and that everything would be fine.  It was always a pleasure on the weekends to see Anne and LeRoy pull up in the parking lot.  They are good people and my dear friends!


I hadn't seen them since Winifred's funeral but had been keeping up with them through Facebook.  Last year they both retired and have since been roaming the country and having the time of their lives in a 40' bus they now call "Home Sweet Home."  They are living life to its very fullest each and every day and loving every single minute of it.  


They brought back some extra special cargo for me from the Colorado Springs area.  When they heard that I wanted to get a wind trainer for my bike, LeRoy went into action.  He searched Craig's List in the Springs area to see what he could find.  He messaged me with information about 2 of them and I chose one that I thought would work.  Within a 48-hour time frame, my new trainer was tracked down, purchased and stowed away for a return trip to Kansas.  


I brought it home yesterday and Grahame set it up for me in my bedroom.  Pictures show it below:

For now, it's in my bedroom and if it will put your mind at ease, I'll just keep it right by my bed just in case I need a softer place than the curbing to land.  :)  I have promised everyone that I won't even consider riding it until my cast is off for good and the good doctor gives the "ok".  My own personal goal is to be healed up enough to ride it for the first time on my 56th birthday, October 26th.  It will be my birthday present to myself.  I'm going to have to work hard to finish up the final 500 miles of my original goal of 2,000 miles by Jan. 1, 2012 but it is attainable.  And if it is not, it won't be because I didn't try!   Oh by the way, don't intend to wear helmet on trainer but am keeping it nearby as a "visual" reminder of the most important piece of biking equipment I own.  


To Anne and LeRoy-I offer my deepest thanks for your encouragement and support as I heal completely from the accident.  Hunting down that trainer in the middle of Colorado Springs was more than I would have asked a friend to do--but you did it willingly and with genuine care and concern....that's a testament to the great character each of you have!