A lot of people have asked me lately how it was that this blog came to be. Friends, that's a pretty good question. When I thought of doing this back in May, it was originally called "Peggy's BAK Journey of 2011." The only reason that I had in mind for writing it was to chronicle my journey with 900 other bicyclists as we traveled across the state of Kansas, border to border, west to east. I wanted a medium in which I could explain my preparations for the trip as well as tell what happened during each of the days I was gone. Really friends, I had no intention of going this far with it.
A lot of experiences happened to me as a bicyclist during the first 4 weeks of the blog and it was great to be able to write about them. There were some very wonderful days that I experienced in my preparation for the journey. I had ridden so many miles on my new bike that I was positive I was "good to go." Biking friends helped by riding hundreds of practice miles with me and encouraged me on the way to my June 3rd departure.
A very dear and special friend was always willing to help me figure out my average speed, prior to finally getting an odometer that would do it for me. I'm sure that you are shocked to learn that I needed help in figuring out such a simple thing as average speed, but remember dear friends, that I am a charter member of the "I Hate Math Club" at Haven Grade School (5th grade class of 1965). That same friend sent encouraging messages to me, telling me to keep up the good work and that he was sure I'd do well.
I had special shirts made up, thanks to my sister-in-law Paula, that were embroidered on the sleeves with the name of a person I would be riding for on any one of the 8 days of the trip. It was like taking Ron and Bob, Brian, my parents, my brother Mike, my dear friend Dennis, my former students Amy, Mike, John and Marschelle, and my 3 children, Ricky, Grahame and Ursela along with me as I attempted to make the journey.
Unfortunately, there were some days that were not so great, in fact they were downright disheartening to me. And of course, the most disheartening of them all was the day that I had to drop out of the BAK, only half-way (223 miles) through the course. Heat stroke and dehydration had gotten me and it was with sadness and plenty of defeat that I came home as we got to McPherson. Now THAT was one blog entry that I hated to write-and certainly one of the most difficult. There was one section written in it that really helped me to accept the fact that I did my best, and it follows:
"I am very disappointed but I have learned that there are lots of people in this life who have made a premature trip to the cemetery because of their foolish pride. I kind of like living still! So I am listening to the doctor, and saying "enough." June 7th posting after falling ill on the BAK.
I wrote a few more journal entries and then decided it was time to call it quits. And I would have, if not for the encouragement of my niece, Brandy, who lives in Texas. She said she hated to see me stop writing and questioned why didn't I continue on with my bucket list ideas? So after a bit of thought, I decided to continue on with the idea that I could now keep track of all of my bucket list attempts. Thus, the blog formerly known as "Peggy's BAK Journey of 2011" became the current one, "Peggy's Bucket List Journey of 2011."
You know, that worked for a while. I was able to write about taking swimming lessons for the first time, connecting with family members through a family reunion, two ill-fated attempts to go power parachuting and ride in an ultra-light plane, and seeing the most beautiful sunrise and sunset in the world on the very same day! Oh, and for the record, although both sunrise and sunset were beautiful that day, I believe I'd have to vote for the sunrise being my all time most memorable out of the two....don't try to figure it out cause you really just had to be there! :) And then, well then, August 4th happened and since that day most of this blog has been devoted to writing about trying to get well again.
And so, I guess there you have it....why this blog "is" in the first place. I am grateful that you would wish to take the time to read it and even if you did not, I'd still keep on writing it. For me, sitting down at the computer and pounding away on the keys is the best form of "therapy" I can think of for all of the problems and challenges this life of ours seems to bring. Believe it or not, there are some days when there is nothing I care to write about. Other days, the need to write is very apparent and I find myself sitting down at the computer and "typing away". Some posts take quite a while to finish while others, like my recent visit with my little friend Nadonna, took only 15 minutes to write and be happy with. It all depends~
One of the things I've learned through this whole process of blogging is that if you really want to write something, then the words should come from deep inside your heart. Don't even bother putting them down if they are not. I have deleted several drafts of posts after reading them to myself because I knew that, for one reason or another, it wasn't what I should be writing about on that particular day. If you have to struggle to even find the words, then perhaps the subject you wanted to write about really wasn't for you anyway!
At times, if you write in such a fashion, then you are going to have to admit some of your own shortcomings in print and OUCH, that can kind of hurt! It's not easy to admit you are feeling depressed, or angry, or impatient, or hopeless in any given situation. But I believe that in the long run, it's the only way to communicate with people. And that goes for face-to-face communication with someone as well as online blogging. I figure you might just as well be honest right now, rather than going back and changing your position on something later on. It's a whole lot simpler in the long run.
Well, come Friday morning I'll be heading back to the "land of miracles" one more time and this may well be the last journey. I can only keep hoping~As with every doctor visit I've had thus far, I've always prayed to be able to take whatever "verdict" I was given with grace and acceptance knowing that it was God's plan for me at this point in time...With that in mind, I'm thinking pretty sure that I've almost "made it back to home." Have a good day friends! By the way, the weekend is just across the street and down a couple of houses. It's looking forward to seeing us very soon.
Thank you to my son Grahame, a great caretaker of "mothers with only one available arm". He had to put up with a whole lot and always did it with a smile on his face.
No comments:
Post a Comment