Thoughts on an Early Spring Morning

We were biking on the trail again yesterday. There's a section that winds along a creek, through the woods. It's one of our favorite sections, because of the variety of terrain. Most of the rest of the trail is pretty straightforward. But this one section winds and dips, has little hills and lots more wildlife.

We've biked about 4 days a week, each of the past two weeks, and we always do the same section of the trail. The kids have been pointing out the little signs of Spring. Last week, a few wildflowers were popping out here and there. This week, the grass was much greener, and was dotted throughout with yellow and purple blooms.

Yesterday, the older three children biked ahead a bit. I was coasting along at a much slower pace, keeping stride with LilBro. His little legs were pumping at warp speed, but the small wheels on the trike only go so fast. This stretch of the trail has a few small hills. Nothing challenging to me or the older kids, but definitely a bit of a workout for the younger two. Both Princess and LilBro are learning what it means to coast downhill. LilBro, especially, loves to lift up his feet and watch the pedals of the trike spin out of control. "Whoo-hoo!" he yells.

Such glee. Such peace. Such beauty. Such a gift.

As I was getting the bikes on the rack yesterday afternoon, Niece told me how much she loved homeschooling. I asked why. She said, "Because we can get our work done quicker, and can then go do fun stuff like bike riding. In regular school, if I get my work done quickly, I have to just sit and be quiet, or they give me more work to do." Well said. It's what I like about homeschooling too... and what drew me to it. All that wasted time in a school building, when the work was already done, and there was a great, wide world out there, waiting to be explored.

This was a rough winter. We didn't get a lot of snow or ice, but it was brutally cold for weeks on end. We were cooped up and cabin fever was rampant. How glorious it feels now that Spring's arrived... to be outside most of every day, to be shedding our coats and soaking up the sun's rays. To hear the chirping of the birds, see the earth come to life again, and to know how blessed we are to be able to enjoy every moment of it.