Darkness, then Light

Over the past few days, there's been a palpable change in our world. Winter is threatening to overcome autumn and dominate.

It feels like the days of glowing leaves surrounding Shyla are over until next year. I hope that we get a few more this year but I am not optimistic.

For other reasons, my state of mind hasn't been the best either. My neck, which already has a 3 level surgical fusion, is threatening to need another surgery and has been causing me unrelenting arm pain for months. Whenever I reduce the pain meds, the pain grabs my shoulder and squeezes so hard that I could scream. It's frustrating because the last thing I want is another surgery and long recovery. I'm trying "conservative" management but my PT wants me to talk with my surgeon too.

Given this background, I was surprised to feel how my mood lifted over the course of Shyla's and my mountain bike ride this morning. The world seemed to transform as we climbed up toward the clouds in our hills.

As I snapped this photo at the start of our ride, I thought - "that dark sky represents how I feel".

Then, I pedaled and Shyla ran upward through a pine forest. I noticed the sun starting to shine from behind me. Then, I saw Shyla partially glowing in the sunlight but still with shadows on her face.

By the time we summited Hug Hill, the sun was above the cloud bank, and the world looked cheery. When I gazed at the clouds, they had a rainbow in them from the sun behind them.

After hanging out on Hug Hill, we checked a wildlife camera. We had been mooned by a cow elk. I laughed out loud!

It felt to me like the "journey" of our mountain bike ride was telling me not to let the darkness win. When Shyla gazes in my eyes with a beseeching look like she did yesterday, I know that the darkness can never win.