My rear view

Day 1 of 31 at TWT!

 "I love riding on the back of your bike!" Rainbow Girl chirps as I wriggle the bike seat straps over her head and pop on her pink flowered helmet. 

I twist myself back to face the front of my bike, grab the handlebars firmly, and glance to see her sweet smile in the rearview mirror as I push a foot against the pedal. 

"It's like it's just you and me and Sis," she sighs contentedly behind me.

My eyes widen to take in the clear blue sky that stretches in front of us, beckoning us up the long hill out of our neighborhood. My lungs expand to gulp deep breaths of spring-sweet fresh air. The world seems to simultaneously stretch out infinitely far around us and shrink to freeze us in our own moving bubble as we soar up the hill and into the meadow, leaving behind the chatter of kids playing and neighbors exchanging small talk. Just you and me and Sis. I watch her big sister pedaling mightily in front of me, blonde hair flying past her waist, then peek at the rearview mirror to the little sweetie pie. She's right. Time stands still in our gliding bubble, just us darting down the path, gently floating into each wider scene for just a moment and then zipping past. 

The straight path begins to swing and wind. 

The sun turns more deeply gold each minute.

Insects whirr. 

Birds twitter and warble.

Around one bend, chorus frogs hum and trill. 

"I love riding bikes with you!" Sis whips her head around to call back to us, then churns her legs faster again. 

"I love riding bikes with you too!" I call forward, then sneak another glimpse of Rainbow in the mirror. Blue eyes wide, brown hair blowing, dainty hands gripping the front bar of her seat delicately. Someday, too soon, she'll be out in front on her own bike, little legs churning right beside her big sister. This bike ride merges with all our past bike rides in my head, and I feel her baby feet pushing against my back, her baby voice saying "weeeee!" the whole way, her toddler voice sing-songing "Over in the Meadow" behind me. 

"I want to have a pink bike!" she pipes up suddenly. 

"Yeah, you can have a pink bike someday!" I reply. I can almost see her out in front of me. She'll be so cute. They'll be so cute together. 

But first, I'm going to soak up every moment of her little voice in my ear and her wiggles behind me. Because these moments in my rear view mirror will one day be behind us.

<3