"I stopped dreaming and woke up." Cheryl Oreglia
It's early Saturday morning. I'm peeking out of one eye because I don't want to wake up but I have to use the facilities and if I open both eyes I'm going to fully wake up and the night, along with my dreams, will be over.
Do you feel my pain?
I caught a glimpse of my blurry resolve reflecting off the glass of the large French doors across from my bed. We sort of stare each other down but her tenacity is better than my weary self and eventually, I look away.
Glancing at the clock on my nightstand, I go into a hard squint so I can make out the time without putting on my glasses. I see what I think is a very unclear 5:45 am. Ugg. I was hoping it was closer to 6:45 am but that means it's really 4:45 am if you account for daylight savings.
Do you see the level of complex thinking that has upended my sleep?
But something is wrong because I notice it's lighter outside than it should be at God knows what time it is. Maybe I have that whole daylight savings fiasco backward.
Screw it.
I sit up and put on my glasses. It's almost 7:00 am. Bahaha.
After getting up to do my thing, I crawl back into the warm bed, with the slumbering form of my husband still nestled in the bedding. I wiggle around arranging my pillows with exaggerated motions, hoping Larry will wake up and make some coffee.
He moved but just to pull a pillow over his head. I can always be more annoying.
Larry and I went out to dinner with our new friends last night. Sara, the woman I met at the writing conference, came down to Campbell with her husband Darren and treated us to a lovely dinner in the Pruneyard.
What a dynamite couple. Young (I mean that relative to my age), smart, ambitious. They're from Canada but staying in the States while organizing a new business. Sara decided to utilize this time to write a novel, and hence, I met her at the conference.
I can't wait for her book to come out, she's brilliant, and I am excited about the topic which challenges cultural norms and focuses specifically on the evolution of women.
It's going to be a best seller. I'm sure of it.
Anyway, we had a fabulous dinner, some delicious margaritas, and a delightful conversation. We thoroughly enjoyed their charming company. Hopefully, we'll see them again soon. At the very least, we owe them a dinner on the patio!
Wiggle, wiggle. Blow my nose loudly, clear my throat, and Larry rolls out of bed with a groan. Whoot. Hoot. Within minutes I can smell the coffee brewing from the kitchen and he returns with two steaming cups.
I say, "Thanks," and then I notice the computer tuckered under his arm which makes me smile.
He says, "Good morning,' and leans in for a kiss.
"We're going to write?"
"Yes, we're going to write."
I sit up in bed smiling like a dufus and he says, "What?"
"I can't believe you grabbed your computer and you want to write with me."
"Ride, not write. We're going to ride today."
"Oh, I heard write."
"We hear what we want to hear."
"Or hope to hear."
I get the look.
He wants to start training for our next ride, which isn't for months, but he wants to start with a steep mountain on our first day out. I want to start easy. Big surprise.
Regardless, I could probably leverage our writing time with his riding time. Right?
After the fourth, "Could I have another cup of coffee please," lost its appeal, Larry wrangled me out of bed and into my riding gear.
I remember sitting on the front porch noticing the signs of spring all around me. Birds are chirping, there's a soft breeze blowing my hair, and the magnolia tree is starting to bloom, as I slip into my shoes with the clips, the fingerless gloves, and trusty helmet. I jump on the back of the tandem and we take off down the long quiet street.
I'm a little nervous because we're doing the "hill" today and I haven't ridden in weeks. Since my bout with the flu, I've been struggling with asthma which is perplexing. Because what does asthma have to do with the flu?
The first five miles is flat which allows me to look around, feel the crisp air, and note all the splashes of color doting the landscape. When we merge onto Hicks Road off Colman, there is a steep change in the elevation, and I can feel the muscles in my leg rebel.
I'm sweating. Larry more so. Keep pedaling, I repeat in my head, keep pedaling.
We continue to climb slow and easy for several miles before we crest the mountain and Larry pulls off the road to take a break. I guzzle half my water in one gulp. It's a beautiful ride through the lush mountain with multi-million dollar mansions tucked behind the shrubs and oak trees. There is a small creek winding along the road if only I wasn't so winded I could enjoy the charm.
My energy is waning and I start thinking about breakfast as I try and catch my breath.
The rest of the ride is thankfully downhill until we reach the town of Los Gatos and have to attend with the weekend traffic. A lady in a blue Tesla almost takes us out with a sharp right turn, but Larry manages to maneuver us safely out of harm's way. She's on her phone, and never actually sees us.
Larry pulls around the back of the car so he is alongside the driver's side window. I believe he wants to give her the look, but she never looks up from her phone and eventually rolls away.
When we make it back to Campbell (our town), Larry makes an unscheduled pitstop, for some nachos at El Gaupo's! We managed to devour the entire plate.
When we got back to the house a very strange thing happened.
Larry grabbed his computer and went outside to the patio table. I'm not kidding.
I gently prompt, "What are you doing?"
"I'm writing. I don't like it. Don't bother me."
I bring him a warm cup of coffee and tiptoe away.
Our book is coming along. It's been revamped, reinvented, and reorganized and I think we finally nailed the pitch.
Do you want to hear it?
I'm going to assume your silence is a yes.
Okay, I recorded a podcast today with Wynne Leon and Dr. Victoria Ponders! It was so much fun. And they convinced me to try out our pitch on their audience. I'll link the podcast to my site when it comes out in two weeks and I would love to hear what you think.
It starts, "Get ready for the ride of your life…"
Love to hear your thoughts, suggestions, and ideas. We have ten chapters loosely based on our first year of unemployment, along with all our normal foibles and mishaps, lessons learned, things celebrated, fought for, and established as we enjoy the transformative virtues of traveling in tandem, with two opposing itineraries.
No detail is unimportant.
Each chapter is organized with my observations followed by Larry's thoughts on the same subject or event. It's pretty hysterical, some would say disturbing, and yet illuminating at the same time.
A peek…into the intro.
Cheryl: Picture this: Larry, my type-A husband, who has the decision-making drive of a squirrel on espresso, decides there is going to be more to retirement than Bingo Night, pickleball tournaments, and senior citizen discounts. Armed with nothing but a chunk of our hard-earned retirement funds he decides to ditch the rocking chairs and outrun his aversion to aging by traversing the globe. And by "decides," I mean he dragged me kicking and screaming into his midlife crisis, promising adventure and excitement on the back of a tandem bike.
Larry: My wife sees the world through a thick pair of rose-colored glasses, whereas I have no delusions about the world or my place in it. I work, I get paid, so I can support the needs of my growing family.
That has been my life, my motto, my purpose for decades.
Then we turned sixty and there were no easy answers about how, why, when, where, and what we're supposed to do at this juncture of life. There is no epiphany or map to follow. You're on your own. And although I borrow my wife's glasses on occasion as an act of solidarity, the decision to quit working was admittedly a rose-colored one.
The thing is, when we are brave enough to examine our decisions, our experiences, and even our thoughts, what is exposed is what we value. Right? Because it appears our ethics are woven into our actions. So it makes sense to take a peek into the depths of our lives once in a while and look at what is truly embedded in what we do.
Go ahead, slip on those rose-colored glasses, clarity always helps along with a warm cup of coffee.
Oh, and by the way, he's still writing…
I'm Living in the Gap, writing my heart out, looking forward to joining you in the comments. How's your week going? What are you writing about?
I'm obsessed with books I've yet to read, they're like buried treasures, waiting to be unearthed. Grow Damn It is waiting patiently for you, a perfect read for the Spring, dig in.
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