This week marks some very exciting new adventures in this forty-something's life. Two revelations followed by action! THAT is the joy of forty-something. No more wishful wonderings. No more procrastinations! This is the decade of action! This is the decade for some self-analysis.
An example of some recent self-analysis: Where have I been for the last 10 or so years? Apparently I haven't been paying attention to pop culture. I mistakenly thought that marinating in Downton Abbey, Pixar, Frozen, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, 24, Dwayne Johnson, Meagan Trainor, Taylor Swift, and getting an iphone would be enough to rate me as pop-culture saavy. So HOW, pray tell, did I miss Harry Potter? Well, truth be told, my kids were a bit young when Harry hit the scene. Additionally, Lord of The Rings releases continued to parallel the release dates of the beloved wizard's films. There was NO competing with the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, for me. I did actually go to the theater to watch the first Harry Potter film, the name of which totally eludes me. Sorry, to the HP lovers. I've been content with my decision to not pay attention to all the Harry Potter craze, until this week.
My kids have been allowed (THAT'S another story...) to watch Harry Potter, 1-4, recently, over a bit of time. It has, every now and then, become fodder for dinner table conversation, during which I could not participate. Call me a jerk, but I was ok with that. I didn't love that my 6 year old could narrate through some "dodgy" scary dramatic retellings of magic, sorcery, and various evils faced by Mr. Potter, et al. Yikes! Really? My first two kids had barely graduated from watching Dora The Explorer when they were 6 years old. Ugh. I digress. Anyway, the HP subject emerged once again this week at my parents' dinner table. Yesterday, the marathon began. Why not? I joined in the viewing fun. Ok, after two entire films, I am starting to get it. They are quite enjoyable, and I am glad that I decided to step out a bit. Here's to trying something new, number one.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this blog, there were two revelations. Harry Potter, being the first. Secondly, something quite ordinary. Riding a bike. Riding a bike is fun. It was actually an activity I frequently enjoyed when I was younger. It's probably been a FULL twenty years since I last rode a bike. Wait, am I wrong about that?? Um.....no, actually, I am not. Wow, that's really embarrassing. Anyhoo...my kids and I rented some bikes a couple of days ago. Normally, I would not rent a bike, really. Like, WHY would I RENT a BIKE? Well, I have three kids who are here on Cape Cod with no bikes. It was merely the RIGHT thing to do.
So, after signing life-waiving paperwork and fiddling with ill-fitting helmets for what seemed like half of our rental time, we were on our way! Indeed, holding fast and staying straight on my little vintage-looking Wizard Of Oz bicycle was NOT EASY. For real. They say "it's like riding a bike" when referring to things that you may have forgotten, but return to your muscle memory as fast as a whipping willow branch in the wind. Oh, I was a wee bit shocked at how NOT like riding a bike riding a bike was. It was weird. After a good 30 minutes, my bike stopped wobbling. HA!
We sped along a sweet and flat bike path that hugged the salty sandy goodness of the ocean's edge. I really didn't think that taking my three kids on a bike ride would be so much stinking fun. Wow, was I wrong. Even if my bum was numb for an hour.
Maybe some of you think it odd that I haven't taken my kids for a bike ride, or that I haven't watched Harry Potter movies. Maybe you think it silly to write a blog about such basic things. Maybe you DON'T even CARE!!! The point of it all is that it can be such a great thing to just step out and do something, two things, three things that seem silly.
If there is anything that is your Harry Potter or riding a bike, give it a try! Being forty is cool. You stop caring if people think you're lame for not having known who Dumbledore is until this week, or if you think riding a bike is worth squealing about.
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