I know a girl named Party, Party Girl

Obviously this is autobiographical.

I haven't provided an update since Easter because, well, dang those haikus were lame. Where does one go from there? Up, presumably, but one can't be sure.

So, after that windy ride, I did some decent commuting, resumed dance class (my teacher and I shared a look of surprise when I sort of understood what I was supposed to be doing), spent a chunk of time getting my teammates squared away with the few hotel rooms we have for the overnight stop at the bike ride, tried out my new bike capris again (not good for rides over 55 degrees or longer than 40 miles, and apparently the butt is not resilient against the roughness of my seat), showed two teammates a new-to-them route, did a multi-leg bike trip to yoga and then my teammate's bowling fundraiser for the MS Society, answered some cyclists' questions, mapped out a group training ride route, talked to the bowler guy about some of our teammates' hesitation to fundraise, and talked to a bike shop about teaching our team how to fix a flat tire.

So, yeah, party girl.

There's a lot going on. It's all in motion. It will all work out.

I also spent some time reflecting on a few things that inspired me this week. First, that bowling fundraiser and all the work, for months, that it took Andy to pull it together. He doesn't have to do that, but does. He is super successful with it due to his passion and demonstrable commitment. I'm really impressed.

I also attended a fundraiser for my friends' son's charter school for autistic children. The stories told by the teenage students and their parents about their hopes and dreams always grounds me a bit. I have such respect for how that school is giving the families the opportunity to hope and dream.

The other thing that really inspired me is hard to describe, and it isn't my story to tell. To make a long story short, I have a  friend who had a traumatic health event in the fall. He is working so hard on his rehab, day after day. The progress is real, and good, but not as fast as he had hoped. He did an MS walk on Sunday, really going beyond what he's done so far, to support a family member with MS. Sure, he had a goal for himself, but this story demonstrates how good people are - wanting to support each other, even when it isn't easy.

These things bring me great hope at a time when I am still very confused about our present and our future. And for that, I am a grateful witness.

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/MS150Maggie2017