I have had multiple thoughts floating around in my head for this week's blog, and I am going to try and tie them all in with the story of what a fabulous weekend I had.  So here we go...

The weekend kicked off with Last Friday in Darby, a wonderful event put on by some even more wonderful people.  Last Friday in Darby is in the park downtown, and consists of vendors, live music, food, wine, and this month there was a gigantic cardboard castle for the kids to play in.  I had a booth there promoting my Health by Heidi business and had a blast!  I had a hoola-hoop contest and a Bosu ball balance contest.  I got to visit with many different people from Darby, Hamilton, and even people from out of state.  I actually chatted with a guy from San Diego who went to SDSU for grad school in the same department that I did, only ten years before me.  He also sponsored a bunch of beach volleyball tournaments that I played in when I lived there.  He and his family were passing through town on their way to Wisconsin, saw the hoopla in the park, and stopped to take part in the festivities.  He had nothing but good things to say about Darby, including how great it was that such a small town could put on such a fun event like Last Friday.  I agreed with him whole heartedly.  There were several people from Hamilton who came down to listen to the music and enjoy the event, and commented about how they wished First Friday in Hamilton was more like Last Friday in Darby.  I think that is fantastic! 

Saturday was the group ride, and this week we all met at my house and rode up past Painted Rocks Lake and back.  60 miles total.  There were eight of us this week, including Fast Guy, myself, a few other gals, a few older guys, and two new Fast Guys (henceforth denoted as New Fast Guy 1 and New Fast Guy 2).  My morning had been somewhat hectic with trying to get chores done before people showed up at my house, so when people started arriving and we were ready to roll out, I felt a little stressed.  My stress quickly melted away as the group of eight seamlessly moved into a double paceline, me and Fast Guy at the front.  We were spinning easily, warming up, chatting with each other.  I could hear the rest of the group visiting behind us, gears clicking, wheels spinning, effortlessly moving along.  I felt wonderful.  The sun felt good, the wind felt good, my legs felt good, the scenery was spectacular.  As we made the turn onto the West Fork, the pace picked up and a few dropped off the back, but we agreed to regroup a few miles up the road.  Fast Guy and I kept chatting, the wheels kept turning, the sun kept shining, and all thoughts outside of cycling quickly faded into nothing.  The pace continued to pick up, more people fell off the back, and then we would regroup every so often.  At one point during the ride I found myself alongside one of the older guys.  He was telling me that he grew up in Darby, moved away, and now lives in Hamilton.  He said that he had not been down to Darby in a while and was surprised at all the things that are happening here.  Between the new businesses on Main Street, the brewery, the organic food store, and the rodeos, he said it seemed like there was always something happening here and it was great to see.  Once again, I agreed whole heartedly!  At the base of the climb up to the dam, I found myself with New Fast Guy 1 and 2.  Fast Guy was back with the slower riders helping them along, so it was just the three of us.  New Fast Guy 1 picked up the pace and I stayed hot on his wheel.  Halfway up, New Fast Guy 2 dropped off.  I put every ounce of being into staying on New Fast Guy 1's wheel, and as we reached the dam, he glanced back with a look of surprise that I was still there.  It was magic.  We all regrouped and continued on our way.  And so went the rest of the ride, fast paced, pushing hard, and regrouping.  I felt great.  It was one of those perfect rides where everything comes together and you wish it would never end.  When it did come to an end and everyone said their good-byes until next week, rather than feeling exhausted I felt energized. 

Today I worked in the garden all morning and then Zoey and I went to our neighbor's pond this afternoon and swam for nearly an hour and a half.  It was lovely.  Once again, I felt energized rather than depleted.  It was the perfect end to the weekend.

Now to the thoughts in my head... Let's start with a phone conversation I had this week with a friend.  My friend and I were discussing people who complain all the time.  Regardless of what is happening in their lives, they are complaining.  My friend said," If those people would just go outside and look at the natural beauty of this place, I think they would realize life isn't so bad and they should stop complaining."  I was thinking of this after my ride Saturday, about how before the ride started I was feeling a bit stressed about all the things I needed to do, but as soon as we started riding and the beauty took over my senses, the stress completely vanished.  It is hard to feel stressed or upset when you stop and look at this glorious place where we live.  This brings me to my next thought, which is that I think it is really funny when people compain that there is nothing to do here.  It is even more funny that the people who complain that there is nothing to do here are never at any of the events or functions, like Last Friday.  I find that I have the opposite problem.  There is SO much to do here that I don't have enough time in the day to get it all done! 

My ultimate point is this:  You can be part of the problem or be part of the solution.  If you complain about nothing to do but don't participate in anything, you will have nothing to do no matter where you live.  If you spend your time complaining, you are missing out on all the wonderful things happening around you and the spectacular scenery surrounding you.  Choose to be involved and be active or choose to not.  There is always a choice, and it's yours to make.  My choice is to embrace this life, this magestic place where we live, this wonderful town we call home.  What's your choice?