Finding the Balance Point

Happy Wednesday Everyone,

I had this idea for my blog today about finding the balance point, and I find it a bit ironic that I am posting it on a Wednesday...on our balance point of the week.  Two days down, two more to go.   

I am going to get brave here and post a video of myself doing something that I am not yet good at, something I think I look a little wonky doing,  and something that, at 44 years young, I may realistically never master, but I think the video is a good metaphor for life.  Soooooooo...have a look...

So for those of you that don't bike - and let's be clear, I am nothing special on my bike, I simply enjoy riding - I want to explain what is happening here.  I mentioned in an earlier post that my family and I have been watching mountain biking videos a lot recently.  We learned about these manual trainers.  A manual is when you pop up and ride on your back wheel for a short distance.  The trainer, the wooden support you see in this video, allows you to learn how to get up on your back wheel, and then how to find the balance point once you are up.   Finding the balance point in order to stay up, not fall off the back, or let your front wheel come crashing back down before you want it to, is super tricky!  

The box or trainer prevents you from falling while you learn.  In this video, we are using my son's old bike because it's lighter and easier to manipulate.  My husband is helping me by pulling up on the wheel.  Yesterday all we were focusing on was practicing the balance point - not the actual getting there.  (Although I am getting decent about getting the bike to this point on my own too!)  I am not sure I'll ever want to actually do a manual on my bike on a trail, but it doesn't hurt to practice it, as it can only make me a more confident rider, and hey, there's not much else to do in the middle of a pandemic week, right!  It is also a surprisingly fun little workout.  You have to use a lot of core muscles, as well as arm and leg ones too!  

All of this explanation to say that there are so many little life metaphors with this simple manual trainer.  I feel like life is also about finding the balance point.  Especially now, we need to find a balance between pushing ourselves to safely connect/engage with others and conversely rest and take care of our minds and bodies.  In trying to find this balance point, it's important that we set ourselves up with the right supports.  The manual trainer has a frame and a structure to support you, and it also has a strap to make sure you can't fall.  In life you also need a frame and structure to feel supported.  These are our immediate families and caregivers, the routines that we can depend on, school buildings and our spaces of learning, and the boundaries that are imposed on us both at home and in school.  (No, you can't stay up until 1:00am playing video games and expect to function well the next day on that little sleep).   

The extra straps on the bike trainer are like the extra people in our lives that help make sure we don't fall...our teachers, extended family, counselors, friends, neighbors, and community members.  My family got this manual trainer idea from people that ride mountain bikes all the time and consistently ride difficult terrain, so it just goes to show you that even the most professional of us still need support sometimes.  (Pssst - that's a reminder that you should ask for help and support when you need it, 'cause no one needs to go it alone all the time!)  

Sometimes in life, it can seem like we are always on the balance point.  Carefully holding it all together, and risking the possibility of tipping over or crashing down at any given moment.  But sometimes, like in mountain biking, that's the thrill of it.  Without risk, there is no reward, and that feeling of making just the right adjustments to manage the wild ride is the beauty of the whole thing!

Those are some wild rides, right?!?  Most of it just insanity in my mind - be careful out there Cougars!   After watching all of these intense runs, it seems appropriate to give our Black History Month daily spotlight, to a doctor!  

Rebecca Lee Crumpler was the first African American woman to become a Doctor of Medicine in the United States.  She was also an author, having published a book of medical advice for women and children in 1883.  Before becoming a doctor, she was a nurse who showed promise and skill at caring for the sick.  She entered and then graduated from a woman's medical school as the only African American woman in her class.  She worked in both the North (Boston Area) and in the South, post-Civil War.  She cared for many people who might not otherwise have been given medical care including freed slaves and needy children.  (National Institutes of Health).  Despite her considerable accomplishments, not much remains of Crumpler's legacy, so I am glad to highlight her here and make her name known to all of you!  

I hope you are finding the balance today, Cougars!  Keep being awesome!

Mrs. Hempey