Lucy Reflects

Summer Bike Ride

It is often said that you have just a few defining moments in your life. You know, those moments that shape you forever? I had one of those when my twins turned two.

A moment that slapped me right in the face and told me I was a damn idiot.

It was one of the first nice days of summer. A warm day in the beginning of June - before it gets so hot you sweat in places you don't want to talk about. The boys got new balance bikes and helmets for their second birthdays and they were obsessed with them.

Our neighborhood is hilly, and Cam already proved he wasn't ready for that by busting open his lip, so I decided to take the boys for a nice bike ride on the gravel trail behind Spooky Nook. It's a lovely 2.5-mile trail adjacent to farmland and a cute stream. I knew this would be perfect because the dudes LOVE animals and water, so it was a win-win.

Our ride started out fantastic. We said hello to some cows, we were cruising. Walkers, joggers and bikers were telling me how cute and great my kids were. Life was good.

I kept telling the boys about the stream "right ahead" and they were pumped to throw some rocks in the water. The mile markers kept ticking away - .25, .50, .75. I knew the stream had to be right around the bend. We should keep going. They were doing SO GOOD and .25 miles later, we could finally see the stream. I knew there was part of the stream that came right up to the trail, but it was further ahead and we would have to scale this cliff leading down to it. I lead the boys down the rocky terrain and we were thrilled to finally be throwing rocks. YEAH! I was Mom of the Year!

We did this for about 20 minutes before we were ready for lunch. After all, it was past noon. But now what? I somehow managed to get two toddlers BACK up the cliff. (Did I mention there was some type of needle bush lining the cliff?)

Now we had to ride 1.25 miles back to our car. The boys were crying that they were hungry and tired. What the HELL was I supposed to do now? Luckily, I had my trusty Jansport with me and I rummaged through to find some trail mix that was less than a couple of years old. It was a small container and they managed to devour that in about 36 seconds. That gave them enough energy to ride approximately 14 feet until they completely gave up. "COME ON DUDES YOU'RE SUCH BIG BOYS," I said enthusiastically with tears in my eyes. People were now lapping us and walking back to their cars. Not one person offered to help me, although I'm not sure what they could have done. One lady even said to me, "It'll be snowing by the time you get back.” THAT WAS NOT HELPFUL.

I sat down with them and we all had a little cry. I felt sorry for them. I was so stupid for thinking their tiny little legs could make it this far. What should I do? I could make my husband leave work to come get us, that'd take at least half an hour and he would be less than thrilled. I could give a stranger my car keys and tell them to meet us along side of the road, which could also end badly. So, I did what any mom in my situation would do. I hiked up my yoga pants, shoved two helmets in my Jansport, tied two balance bikes to the straps of my backpack and I carried the twins over a mile. I cursed myself the entire time.

I know I'm still emotionally scarred from the incident and I think they may be too, but we made it out alive. I have done a lot of really stupid things in my life, but this may take the cake.