Being in a relationship is like riding a bicycle built for two. To get anywhere you have to first figure out how to balance the thing together. Pedal in unison. Be each other’s eyes and ears. Collaborate on the go. Deal with the unexpected and minimize collisions. When you do fall off, you try to cushion the blow for your fellow rider. Tend to injuries and help each other get back on.
There is a woman whose husband is dying yet every day they get on their bicycle built for two. With her in the front, they journey along. When he tires, when he needs to stop pedalling and close his eyes for awhile, she pedals on. She pedals them on through bustling city streets out into the quiet of the countryside. She pedals on through an unrelenting fatigue as she faces the army of his illness. As he sleeps, she pedals them deeper into the comforting country air that gently lifts his hair. She pedals on through tears, passing fields of memories and wonderings of what will come. She pedals on away from the impending sense of aloneness that follows her around. She pedals on knowing that very soon he will drift away… She pedals because her boundless love for this man compels her to go on.
If you happen to see her or know her, or you are her, please salute her.
Carrie
