A Garden, Life

I have a beach cruiser bicycle. It's vintage but new (remake of an old model), and it's brown and orange and has a basket that I strapped to the front. It's really pretty and I like it as much as a fish loves the ocean. A saltwater fish anyways. My mom wanted a cruiser bicycle, too, so she found one at a garage sale for about twenty bucks, but it was a fixer-upper. So today, we attempted to fixer-upper it up. ;) I got my pretty nails that I did JUST last night, thanks to some $4.99 nail polish of Abby's (see below), covered in slimy bike oil. But I think that represents me pretty well. I like girly things, but I always end up getting splattered in dirt, wet with rain, and covered in bicycle grease.

(washed, obviously)

 Then we found out that the replacement wheel that we just so happened to find at a garage sale for a buck was crooked. And wobbly. Dad said it probably wasn't safe to ride far, and that we needed to first give it a little test run down the street and back. He said that it'd probably fall off, and that first, we need to just go buy a new tire. One that isn't loose. Mom said okay, we won't go (too) far, but to listen to the telephone just in case. Dad smiled.
Five miles later, we discovered an old warehouse, rode around downtown garland, sped by a creepy forest area, and attempted to pet a pregnant donkey, and three rams.  The whole time the tire wobbled and swivled back and forth, back and forth. Right, left, right left. It felt good to actually spend time with my mom, since a good deal of my life is with friends.
I'm pooped.

  Yesterday night was another adventure, but an indoor one. At almost ten, abby told me she was bored. So she came over to spend the night. We made sugar cookies with lotsa butter, popcorn the old fashioned way (in a pan), tea that was very savory, and a ginormous sheet-fort that covered most of my room. It was delightful and most def. fun.

Sometimes, it's so easy to love life. To laugh. To swallow yesterday, hold off on tomorrow, and taste today. But let's get real- most of the time it's hard. It's hard live in the moment and be happy where you are, presently. Being content is hard for me, but by the grace of God I think I'm starting to catch on. One of my mom's old hippie friends from way back then in the B.C. years told me "Plant what you want to wake up to". She was referring to gardening, but I took it as something else. I think that life is like a garden in a way, and what it produces is up to you. And if you don't like what's in your garden, plant something else. Yank out the weeds. It's forgiving. Life needs the brightness of the sun, the hope of water.

I saw the first little leaves dotting the trees today. I'm thrilled.