Notes from Steve

My Aunt Carol died this morning at 5:45 am.  On RAGBRAI a month ago, we were able to visit her in Harlan at her little house on my cousin's farm.  We did some music for her and then spent some time with her as well.  Since I had heat exhaustion that day - I took the next day off.*  Before we left cousin Barb's house - the nephews and I went over and said goodbye for the day.  She wasn't in the best physical shape, but she was sharp and so appreciated the visit.  I'm glad I had the opportunity to spend time with her … it never ceases to amaze me that the universe aligns when it needs to.  Barb said Aunt Carol sure enjoyed our music.  (… sigh …)

Over the past couple of weeks, I've been regretting taking off the day because of my heat exhaustion.  I felt I should have been able to rally and find a way to ride.  But - looking back, I'm really happy I had the time the next day with Aunt Carol.  Our team leaves really early in the morning (6-6:15 am), and I wouldn't have had that essential time.  I didn't gain this appreciation until today … it now makes sense.

One of the hardest things I think a human has to deal with is deciphering whether a situation that causes us distress is due to hurting our ego or is really a problem.  "I'm opposed because that hurts my feelings," or "I'm opposed because this is a safety/concerning/harmful situation" - this is hard.  In the case of Aunt Carol, my taking off a day* was not something I needed to understand in the moment.  

I'm thankful I had the opportunity.

*Never in 10 years of riding have I ever had to take off a day.