My First Ride and Mohonk in May

15 Year Anniversary....May 23rd... Mike was in Boston, but coming home in the evening. I had been riding the motorcycle in the driveway to practice. Then, he came home by 1pm and surprised me and the first thing he wanted to do was go for our first cycle ride. I was a little nervous, but crazy excited at the same time. We suited up and got on separate bikes for the first time... it was a beautiful day... almost 80 degrees...a great day for a ride... tensions were rising and BAM... I shifted into first gear and stalled... TOTAL BUMMER... especially in front of Michael...

Well...maybe, I just needed to get that out of my system in the driveway, because the rest of the ride was GLORIOUS! Truly... yes, I made the mistake of waving to a few people with the wrong hand but "all in all", it was a successful ride! It really is exhilerating to be able to shift and control the bike..."FEEL THE WIND in your hair" (... or against your helmet as the case may be!) We had a wonderful time! I put on about 40 miles... we ran out for lunch and drive back just in time to get the kids off the bus! The girls were quite impressed to see their mom pull up behind the schoolbus on a cycle!

The next morning we went out as well...probably another 40 miles and I felt twice as comfortable. Mike seems to enjoy me riding as well. Upon our return, we packed up the car and motored to Mohonk for our anniversary... which is an entirely separate blog... We had a spectacular time... just Mike and me... rowing on the lake...hiking on a few new trails... enjoying great food and a fabulous view from our topfloor tower room. The only thing we didn't get to enjoy was a fire in the fireplace as it was about 80 degrees out. Oh well, next time... last evening we sat in a gazebo on a bridged island (see picture) just talkng as we watched the moon over Mohonk...very peaceful...a rare moment. Clearly, great memories were made. A wonderful place to celebrate our last 15 years.

Carpe Diem

What is life if you save it all for tomorrow? Will tomorrow ever come? No one will ever truly know until tomorrow greets us. I'm a big supporter of "Carpe Diem" (Sieze the Day!) A wonderful truth highlighted in the movie, "Dead Poets Society". With that in mind, I've been mulling something over in my head for quite a long time, and this past week, I finally took action on it. I got my learners permit for operating a motorcycle! I've known how to ride a motorcycle since I was in high school. Amy Thorton used to let me ride her cycle around the high school parking lot. It was safe for me because you could never pick up too much speed between speed bumps! Michael has always had a motorcycle... I think since he was four years old so when I met Mike in '88 I would ride with him... but now my girls like to ride with him and I'm usually the one who stays at home now...

So, why not get my license? I picked up the two DMV books last week and read them cover to cover. I still had about half of one of the books to go this morning but I decided that "Today was the day!" In order to get a permit to ride for the next year I needed to take a written test at DMV and then I can ride with Michael within a 1/4 mile of me for the next year racking up hours to qualify for my DMV roadtest. I stayed in my jammies until the final book was read and then motored to the DMV for my test.

I was surprised how unnerved I was! I haven't taken a "test" in years! Sounds really funny but I was really nervous about it! I actually didn't even tell Michael about it in fear that I would fail (If I did, I could simply take it again at a later date...sounded safe to me!) Turns out I got a 100% on it! YA HOO! I walked out of the DMV with my little slip of paper feeling like the whole WORLD was my oyster! I was now legally approved to drive a motorcycle on the open road! How fun! How cool!

No. I haven't taken my first ride as of yet sa Michael is in Boston until Wednesday. But! I'm hoping to take my first ride Thursday morning possibly... Michael and I are going to Mohonk for Thursday and Friday for our 15 year anniversary (www.Mohonk.com). He set us up in a tower room with a spa-tacular package so we'll be doing some hiking then off to the spa for massages and mineral pool moments... a decadent dinner followed by a cozy fire in our room... grrrrr.

Wait...this post was about my motorcycle permit... back to that... yes... my first ride...even if it doesn't happen on Thursday morning I'm sure it will be soon... and I look forward to it... I'm gonna learn how to ride on the open road... just to do it! Why? Because I've never done it before and it's one more thing that I want to put on my resume in heaven of things that I enjoyed down here on earth. Carpe Diem!

Why Ephesians 5:10...

What a chore to pick a blog title... oy... tough stuff... well, through deep contemplation, I have decided to call my blog by the reference to one of my favorite bible verses... It's one of my favorites because it's so simple and I don't believe I have ever heard ANYONE quote it...ever... it is Ephesians 5:10 which says "...and find out what pleases the LORD." Isn't that what life as a Christian is all about? Does it get any simpler than that? It's also a nice reminder to "get back to business..." The 21 century seems to be all about finding out what pleases "me"... Ephesians 5:10 is a gentle reminder that it's WAY bigger than "me"... and if my focus is so small that I think it's about "me" than I've missed the mark...I've missed what God's greater plan is for me...

So, in naming my blog by this verse, I'm hoping to constantly remind myself of a greater goal. I hope that the things that I find to write about are encouraging to you all and give you a glimpse into this life that God has given me....I'm sure it will be filled with trial and error, but ulitmately, hopefully, a life given back to Him for His greater purposes. It's about "Gayle, finding out what pleases the Lord..."