Wet and Wild: A Monday Bike Ride Home in the Rain

Woosh! Said the wind as I opened the door to leave the dentist's office and could see the sprinkles starting to freefall from the sky, sporatically like popcorn.  So, I jumped onto my creaky bike, opened the gate, and went for it.  What choice did I have?

All around me, the earth was going wild like a drunken frat boy, wind pushing and flailing. 

I grasped my handlebars uncertain and glimpsed up at the swirling clouds in the grey sky.  No sign of lightning.  Pedal to the metal. 

I glided along, feeling the rain on my head, drops sliding down my cheeks, a welcomed cooler shower in a day of muggy heat. 

I kept on going, intentionally weighing myself down, paranoid of the flippant tires and bouncy, often breakable frame, I said a silent prayer. 

It was at this point that water started appearing all over my body, no longer a trickle, now, there was pelting rain, spray coming up from the pavement on my feet, and a wind that whipped the rain in at least 10 different directions. 

With the wind, came a stop, and I pulled over to shelter in the steep doorway of an abandoned car dealership.  2 minutes later a man came running around the corner.  He saw me, gave me empathetic eyes, then ran to his car and drove away.  I thought to myself 'Really? Could someone see that I am helpless here? In my green teacher dress, with my blue teacher bag, and my bouncy white bike?  Was I that threatening for someone to stop and offer a ride? 

As the wind eased up, I took an opportunity to run through the puddles, splashing along from one doorway to another.  Soon, I arrived at a Remis or Taxi stand, "Tienes coches que cabe mi bicing?" Do you have any cars that my bike will fit in?  "No hay coches." Gut punch. "Y si hay, no cabe tu bicing." Slap in the face.  Was that really necessary?

Defeated I walked on until I saw some fellow cyclists looking like wet dogs, riding a long, with a smirk on their faces, saying "We get it. Just go!" 

It was then that I embarked on the last 15 minutes of my journey, laughing occasionally at the ridiculousness of it all, smiling at the fact that I for the first time all day, felt refreshed.  With the last 5 minutes getting progressively darker as I approached my home, I channeled Thomas the Tank "I think I can" to get me that last 2 km and arrived on my steps, pumped for a warm shower and dry clothes.

We live. We learn. We love.

Today, a dear friend, asked me about what I would miss about Argentina.  Argentina has been fruitful for me in many ways.  First, I feel stronger as a coach, from being able to do graduate work around student-centered coaching and put those skills into immediate practice, develop and fine tune them over the last two years.  Secondly,  I am probably speaking Spanish better than I ever have in the last 11 years of studying, immersing myself in, learning it.   Finally, I will miss the rich and diverse group of friends I have here. 

You see, I entered Argentina, at a peculiar and new point of my life.  I was now "a woman with kids." Never before had I had that label preceding me.  To add on to this, I wasn't just a woman with kids, I was a woman with a toddler.  Pablo was just 1 when we docked up in Argentina and after traveling across 4 continents in a month with a 1 year old, upon arrival, I was already asking myself "Did I make the right decision for my family?"

We live.  We learn.  We love. 

So, here I am 1.5 years later, approaching the end of my time in Argentina, and currently, single parenting.  Everyone knows the importance of asking for help but how many of us are actually good at doing it or honest with ourselves when we need it.  Likewise, how many people can you count on that will listen, be there, give you practical and realistic feedback and still love you. 

We live. We learn. We love.

This weekend, I reached out to about 6 friends for help around the weekends and getting in 1-2 hours of exercise.  I am a physical person and being outdoors and in nature and exercise is food for my soul.  It helps balance my emotions and exercise helps me be a better person and more importantly at the moment, a better mom.  The reality is, as many single mommas, I am sure know, that exercise is one of the first things to go when you are sailing your own ship with a toddler. 

During the week, I am blessed by my nanny, Vero, who loves Pablo inside and out and stays around to allow me to get some workouts in, etc.  During the weekend, it's harder finding someone to come to hangout for an hour or two.  Still, when you have a tribe of people who are kind, understanding and supportive,  they will make this happen.   Within minutes of sending out a call for help, my Buenos Aires tribe was on it, putting a couple hours in their schedules over the next few weeks to help me get a couple of hours on my own and to also, let Pablo and I both take some time away from each other.   I love my child to the moon and back but we are all better if we can let off some steam and breath a bit independently, if we are given this blessing.

So, although, I am leaving Argentina after 2 years, it has helped me realize the importance of tribes and letting go, and asking for help.  Near and far, call out to your crew, whether its justification of the doubtful voices in your head overanalyzing something that seems really odd, or whether its a call for a moment to breath while on single parenting mode,  find your people who will be everything for you. 

I promise you. It's not only worth the time and effort.  It's love and joy for your soul and those around you.