What's To Miss

I begged my older sister to move out with me and get an apartment when I was 19. We lived together for a couple of years before she moved back home to save money. And then I lived alone for about 5 years before marrying.

It's been so long now (28 years) that I have to stop and really think about it. But in the early years of my marriage and child rearing, it was the precious memories of those single and alone days that I would flee to as I stared out the window while doing dishes at the kitchen sink.... with babies screaming in the background and the husband mowing the lawn replacing the quiet solitude and music I used to play. Rarely did I turn a t.v. on in my single days' apartment. Rarely is one of the 4 t.v.'s off in my home as a married lady. Laundry piled up in my single days but it only had to be tackled once a month rather than 3 times a day. I could leave a room clean...or messy...and it stayed.

Yep. I miss that stuff...those days. But had I not traded it in for married life and motherhood, I would have missed so much more and not known it. If you're single, the following is a list you should be thankful for...because once married, or co-habiting, these things vanish. And while some really great things replace them...some you will dream about the rest of your life while staring out the window.

She has no clue about the things she will miss about being single.

The Top 10 Things I Miss About Being Living Alone:

1. Absolute quiet. No sound drifting from a t.v. left on in every room.
2. Sleeping. Going to bed without someone commenting, "You're going to bed already?" Or waking up late without someone saying, "Well.....did you get enough sleep?"
3. Eating out of the pantry, refrigerator or over the sink. Without worrying about someone seeing you.
4. Watching "Little House On The Prairie" and not some stupid ghost hunting show.
5. Laundry day came only once a month.
6. I could let the phone ring without yelling, "DON'T ANSWER IT!" and feeling guilty about it.
7. Painting and listening to music until the wee hours of the morning.
8. Paying my own bills and knowing that I could make it on the leftover $50 for the next two weeks. Because I had noone else to worry about.
9. The mess was my mess. I could clean it or walk away from it. It wouldn't get any messier.
10. Only one commode to clean. Or bathroom mirror. Or shower. Or closet. Or bedroom.

3232 LaGrange to Austin

Sunday morning we slept in and missed the free continental breakfast.  Which really isn't a big deal when you've eaten a huge Mexican food dinner at 10:30 the evening before. 

 The day ahead was about finding a great place in the shade to set up our chairs and ice chest and wait for #3232 to arrive in Austin. 

 It could be as early as 1:00 p.m. according to Chuck so we all hurried! 

(Picture a sheep herding dog ...Chuck... nipping at us to hurry and get there.)

Cameron's first text to us that morning was that she had run

 in to a friend of ours at the lunch stop.  

Shout out to Kim!

Small world.

We found some shade, set up our camp and
 watched bikers and supportive families give hugs.
It's a wonderful feeling to watch these bikers come off their bikes
after they cross the finish line.

So we watched....and waited.


And waited.

It was hot. 
Some were forced to make their own shade.

Or find an inch of shade by a port-a-potty.


The dogs were out to show their support....and their tongues.

After sitting for hours, eating picnic food, getting up to walk around and take pictures, and seeing millions of bikers...one begins to lose focus on looking at individual bikers....so imagine my surprise when, from my chair, I looked up and I knew the biker walking right past me!

It was my friend Carol and her family...who have ridden in the MS150 for at least 8 years.

 Carol and her sisters being greeted by their mom.

Jim, Carol's husband.

Jim's bike.
This bike has a sentimental meaning to me.  This was my cousin Paul's bike.  Paul died from Pancreatic Cancer in '04...and I was with him during those last few weeks. I brought his bike back from Dallas thinking Chuck or Will would use it.  But after a year or two of gathering dust, I handed it over to Jim who dusted it off and fixed it up with new wheels.  I can't tell you how much it means to me that this bike is being used and for such a great purpose.  Paul would be proud.

So after that excitement....we waited some more. 



And some more.

Jordan and Chris waited on the other side for awhile.

This is the curve the bikers take right past the finish line. 
So we kept our eye out for #3232 here.

This is my brother-in-law Kim and his hairy hat that we gave him for his birthday.
Cameron said she spotted his hat as she came around the corner.

And there she is! 
See her waving?

#3232

In the yellow jersey.

#3232

She may kill me for this backside shot, but I had to show you the A&M maroon flag that she tucked in her helmet as she came through the finish line!
Whoop!

She immediately wanted ice to sit on.  Apparently her Boo Tay was killing her.
Kim and Chris are providing her some shade.
When you've just finished the MS150, you get the special treatment.
Did I mention it was hot?
Well, if I mentioned it to Cameron, she informed me I had no idea how hot it was.
Hot was being on a bike in spandex with sleeves and leggings to protect her from the sun. 

It was so much fun to have Catha and Kim with us.
Cameron appreciated the support.

Cameron stayed behind in the FMC tent to eat and drink

and then shower and head home on their bus.

Backsides of Jordan (behind the light pole), Kim, Chuck and Chris.

We loaded up our stuff...and there was a ton of it...and headed home.

A million bikers, hours of waiting in the hot sun....and I would do it over and over again. 

Nothing feels as good as seeing your child grin with accomplishment.

And we can never forget this is all about finding a cure for Multiple Sclerosis.

The cure is out there. 

The scientist who will discover it is out there.

It just takes time....and money.

And prayer can't hurt.

3232 Houston to LaGrange

This weekend, Cameron rode in the MS150 for the third time.

  We made the drive over to LaGrange to watch her head in to the finish line on Saturday,

 Day One of the two day ride. 

My sister and her husband joined us this year so we packed an ice chest with lots of beverages and picnic food.  Plus chairs.  Plus signs.  And sunscreen. 

And the wait began for #3232.

This is the view we stared at for hours.  Bikers coming around that curve.

After several hundred bikers, they all begin to look alike.

And we cheered them all on.

Watching.

We ♥ 3232!

(Cameron's number ...and much shorter to paint on a sign)

Retrieving the blown over sign....for the fiftieth time.

We got lots of "whoops" and "gig'ems" because of that maroon chair.

And some "what about me?  Do you love me, too?"

The answer was "of course."

Bikers short.  Bikers tall.  Bikers wide.  Bikers small.

Bikers breathing fumes.

Bikers staying together.

Bikers standing out in the crowd.

A biker we knew! 
This was our preacher when we lived in Pecan Grove.

  He baptised Will 21 years ago. 

We haven't seen him in at least 14 years.

He acted like he recognized us but he had been on a bike
in the wind for hours and we've aged a bit...
not to mention we were out on the side of the road...

and not in a church pew where he had seen us 14 years before.

But like the nice preacher he was,
 he stopped and spoke to us...
maybe because we hollered his name.

And finally!  There she is....the biker on the right.  #3232

We got there at 3:00

 (due to Chuck's rushing us to get there so we wouldn't miss her). 

By the time we spot her it's 6:20 p.m.

We've cheered on a million bikers,

 eaten several helpings of picnic food

 and gotten a little sunburned.

All for #3232. 

It was worth every bit of the wait to see that determined girl

with the big grin and positive attitude. 

After Cameron got back on her bike to head on to the finish line and then a shower and some sleep,

 we drove on to Austin for the night. 

We all took spit baths and met up with Jordan and Chris and Will for dinner.

Will had driven over from Nacogdoches and

 Jordan and Chris were visiting Austin for a long weekend. 

Dinner was at 10:30 p.m. 

A long, long day.

Saw all 3 of my kids and
 was with my sister all day.

A very good day.