Not So Grown Up Yet

The morning birds are chirping. They’ve been up for hours.  Maybe they tell tales from long ago.  Hmm, or maybe they compare "worm restaurants," or gossip about the good lookers amongst them. I know my kitties sit for hours on the balcony listening ... 

Once a long time ago, we used to race the morning for the back door. The birds would scatter to the trees and telephone lines as the screen door banged noisily behind us. We’d cross the yard in our bare feet softening our feet in dew. Then standing before the shed we’d slide open the door to find with gratitude our pretty soft colored blue bike. We were very proud of her. She was tall, lean and fast.

We’d back her out and park her on the cement sidewalk next to the ferns that grew privately at the rear of the house. We’d pick up our tennis shoes and sit down on the one-step stoop to lace them. Invariably we’d dismissed the idea of returning to the house for a sweater or windbreaker.

We would then saddle her as the boys did, swinging our right leg over the seat. The first few moments were slow and bumpy as she pulled us over the grass long side the stone driveway. Dutifully, we’d hold her tight until reaching the asphalt street that lay lower than the house.

Small amounts of pressure to her peddles would warm her to faster speeds. Sometimes after having been parked along the curb anticipating the next ride, she'd decide to run figure eights down the length of our street. She was this graceful and the streets were clear having given ground to driveways.

Sometimes she'd tell us to stand up and coast with her swaying back and forth a wide path as if swishing between downhill gates. Sometimes, we’d ride around and around the block just to feel the flush of air across our face and arms and at times we’d take her back through the tree lined suburb’s paved streets daring us to travel as far as our independent world had ever reached.

This week we felt again a pleasure ... ‘cept now we drive the highway and freedom is only as far away as the windows unrolled.  We've got a shiny black car.  And, she's always been a beaut!  Life seems to progress its way with us!! *smile*

Picture - http://www.autobodypartsonline.com/cgi-bin/webc.cgi/st_prod.html?p_prodid=27593