I janked up my knee pretty bad watering flowers a week ago. I thought it’d go away so I didn’t do anything. I’ve got Ragbrai coming up in a week, and I’ve been looking forward to it for 2 years so I chose to ignore it. Now it hurts like hell.
I remember when I was a kid one year and I was sick on Christmas. Everyone else got to go to my grandparents’ farm and enjoy a great holiday with friends and family, and I was stuck home with Dad. It was awful, and I have this memory burned into my brain still fifty years later.
Over this past year we’ve missed out on so much. And we are going to remember. And I bet that the excuses we’ve used in the past - we will not be making as much in the future. Janel (Lau) says if you get an injury while riding “throw some dirt on it, you’ll be fine” … which is what I plan to do (that and get a cortisone shot and a lot of Advil). I will go no matter what - maybe lying in the back of a U-Haul; bottom line - I’m not going to miss Ragbrai.
I asked a bunch of friends what was learned or appreciated by going through the pandemic, and the overwhelming answer was to really appreciate what we typically take for granted -- good health, doing stuff, not wearing masks - being with each other. There will be bumps for sure in the road ahead; but life is way too short not to smell every flower along the way.
