I'm not sure how it happened. I'm never sure how it happens. It hadn't happened since last summer, though, so I was kind of on a roll. It all started with another hail storm yesterday afternoon. It wasn't torrential but it poured and hailed enough that we had to leave Arden's bike at school and drive home.
She didn't like leaving her bike at school so I told her we would pick it up after dinner. By dinnertime, the skies had cleared and the sun was shining so I grabbed my helmet and hopped on my bike and Arden walked alongside me. As soon as I started going up the hill I realized there was going to be a problem. I was totally in the wrong gear and though I was trying to pump as hard as I could, I was only moving the pedals about an inch-and-a-half. A car was coming towards me so I tried to pump even harder. Then my pant leg got caught in the bike chain and this is where things started to get fuzzy. I remember quickly getting my pant leg out and I remember changing gears, but the next thing I knew, I was moving in a horizontal direction, my face turning up towards the rooftops, and then the trees, and finally the clouds. Next I was on the ground in a ditch on the side of road with my bike on top of me and my helmet hanging backwards off my neck. I had (once again) knocked the wind out of myself and couldn't talk or breath and it was all happening in slo-mo. I saw Arden's face as she stood there in total disbelief, trying not laugh, asking me if I was okay. Light-headed and gasping for air, I used what little strength I had to laugh hysterically.
Good gravy, people.
Arden and I laughed all the way to school as she described the fall to me in detail. She said that she knew the kid in the car that drove by me but said he was in junior high this year so, luckily, she wouldn't have to hear about it at school today. She said she couldn't believe I had actually done that considering I actually talk to the people around here.
When we left the school parking lot, she wanted to ride down the ramp before we left. I tootled ahead and waited for her to catch up. After what seemed a long time and she still hadn't caught up, I turned back to see what was going on. That's when I saw her coming around the corner, walking her bike, and doubled over in laughter. Apparently, she was coming down the ramp too fast and had to decide whether to turn quickly and bite it, or run into the wall. She chose to turn quickly and bite it. This time I was the one in disbelief and suggested we both go home. So we did.
Good gravy, people.
