The Responsible Thing to Do

I am usually very responsible.

Really, I am.

Already, I've spent about four and a half hours grading my DBQs for APUSH. Little by little, dent by dent, red pen mark by red pen mark, I'm getting through them.

To grade each one correctly requires a good deal of attention.

And focus.

And patience.

And lots and lots of writing: theirs, and mine, too.

But today, we got an extra hour. Which I could easily have spent grading...again. It probably would have been the responsible thing to do during naptime, after we played at the park and went up and down the slides all morning, even though I did a good 2 hours this morning.

But, you see, today is November 6th.

And it's Northeastern Ohio.

And during naptime? It was 64 degrees, light winds, and not a cloud in the sky.

Which means, of course, that trainer ride I had on the schedule? Yeah, that's now being replaced by a ride outside.

Getting ready to hop on my Quintana Roo CD.01

*click, click...zooooommmmm*

A mid-ride snap

The great thing about rides outside in the sun in November in Northeastern Ohio is that it feels like such a gift, which really, every ride should feel like. I know that soon it will be gray here...gray sky, gray slushy snow, gray clouds. Soon enough, for sure.

A tiny example of the colors I saw...this was where I turned around

But today? Today was full of color.

Blue sky. Bright green grass. Bright blue lake. And the leaves were falling fast, but were still beautiful.

There was nothing gray about my ride today. Today was full of crayola leaves, of red and pink and orange and burnt sienna and goldenrod. And soon enough, I'll be running in the gray, bundled up with icicles on my eyelashes, but today was a huge inhale of color that I'll remember to carry me through the gray. And know that even if it is gray, it's still a gift.

Standing in my driveway after my ride, looking up