Birthday Boys

Solomon woke up on his birthday

to a new, badly needed bike. 

 Looking at photos from 2002

when he was born,

feels like looking at a high school yearbook.

So much has changed.

Our house, the people in our life,

the van, the kids, animals.

 10 years went mighty quick.

The next 10 will go double time.

After church he and I tossed our bikes in the truck

and headed for the local bike trail.

I had my water belt with 2 bottles in it and we used gadgets to attach one to each of our bikes.

It wasn't long into the ride that we were stopped,

guzzling water and resting in shade.

We had picked the hottest part of the day for this trek.

We enjoyed the ride and seeing the area from a new perspective.

When we approached the city limit sign, I explained

that we had not only left our township but we had indeed

biked to the next city!

Our water supply was nearly exhausted and frankly

I began feeling a bit woozy from the heat.

I knew Doug and the kids were at home setting up Solomons

next gift but I also knew we could not bike back home.

We finally located an old school with a tiny patch of shade

and sat, considering where we could purchase drinks

until I felt we had stalled long enough to call in the troops.

We really are so spoiled in America with our air conditioning and all.

Right about the time we arrived home, my heat headache kicked in.

We stumbled into the house, I hit the couch while Solomon opened this

and spent the next 2 hours playing with it on this