BIcycle Shoes

I have now heard of it all. Did you know there are shoes for bycycling.  Who knew. When I go out on my bike I wear flip flops and pedal pushers. These are shorter panse that don't get caught in the chain. Now I see for $98.00 shoes to wear on your bike. I am amazed. No wonder everybody buying a house now a days has to have a walk in closet. Its for all those shoes. Golf shoes, soceer shoes,  baseball shoes, swim shoes, snow shoes, rubber boots. clogs, work shoes, casual shoes. We are basically shoe nuts in America. In Europe most people don't have a closets.  Clothes are stored in Armoirs.  This is a giant cupboard for hanging clothes  It is certainly not a walk in closet. Yet we all aspire to being more like Europeans. We seek to go there on exotic vacations. We think of Europeans as more sophisticated than ourselves. The truth is they have less shoes. Maybe we could back off of having so many shoes.
Simplify. Be more European. Look in your closet. I have ten pair of shoes easy. That doesn't count the ones in the mud room I use for gardening. So maybe I am up to twelve. I know it's ridiculous but I have too many shoes just like everybody else in America.

Back At It Again /Adult Kids and Thinking about my 40s

It's been a really long time since I did a post. I heard once that to be a good writer you should write everyday. So I guess I am a developing writer.  Who on earth has time to write everyday? Who in the heck has something valuable to say everyday. I am not even sure I have something valuable to say even once a week. But I will give it my best shot.

I have been giving some thought to my adult children. Since I have two and one will turn 40 it does give one cause to reflect. First of all I thought I was really pretty old when I turned 40. I realized there were somethings I might not do in life. I ruled out sky diving because I knew I wasn't into risky behaviors anymore. I still had lots of energy but I wanted to manage it better. I realized I wanted to spend more time in prayer but Lord the truth is, "I got so distracted".  I still had a gusto for life though and I sure packed a lot into those 10 years.

 Now I think of 40 as young. I think there are tons of perilous times ahead for my adult kids. There is so much to build, win, loose, suffer, experience. Middle age shows visible signs of aging. Skin changes, looses elasticity, graying of the hair, weight gain, decrease of body strength and flexibility.
 It all sounds so terrible. Like a downward spiral. But these are just medical facts.

 I remember being in my 40s as pretty wonderful. There were milestones. Kids graduated from High School and then College. I paid cash for a car I actually liked instead of whatever we could find that we could afford. I went to Eastern Europe to serve the poor. I went to Vienna on my way. I grew in my job skills. I figured out I had a brain. I faced multiple challenges and survive both professionally and spiritually. I grew in my walk with God and my husband. I spent some great times with good friends. I volunteered for relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina. I buried both my mom and dad. I got to be there when my mom died. I stayed the course and got a few blessed rewards for it. All in all it was pretty memorable.

I guess what summed up my 40s was the expression "Stay the course". Remain steadfast. This worked for me. Most people have a job by then. So Stay the course. You may have a house payment. Just STAY THE COURSE. Keep on doing those things that are true, honest, of good report, self sacrificing, praiseworthy and based on God fearing principles. Remember it is blessed to give.  Save money instead of spending it. Learn to live frugally but rich in spirit. Walk in the woods for an escape. Go outside at night and look at the stars and moon. Make your home nice with a can of paint. Cook things from scratch for a real accomplishment.  Don't rush into stuff. Trust your gut feelings. Look for friends who you can really talk to about real things. All these ways of life got me through my 40s and all my of life. I just became more aware of how precious time was in my 40s.