a tandem bike across the golden gate bridge

Lately, I've been perusing a blog written by a group of Mormon women.  I've been reading mainly posts that deal with infertility, but there is a lot of good stuff on there.  One lady gives this short description of her soul during the trial of infertility:

{{ ...by the end of my experience my soul had been scrubbed raw.  There are many mentions of "the refiner's fire" in the scriptures, but not being a jeweler or a blacksmith, those metaphors don't really connect with me.  Since my day is filled with dirty dishes and more dirty dishes, I picture my spirit being scrubbed with an unseen S.O.S. pad.  By the end of my infertility saga my soul was standing there pale and pink and very sore. }}

This resonated with me.  I've been feeling rubbed and raw and sore.

{You can read the full post, which is actually about prayer, here.  I find it thought-provoking and inspiring.}

But this weekend, Ben and I had a really, really great time!  We ate good food, we got outside, we did something we don't do every day, and we LAUGHED.  We laughed a lot.  What a boost it has been to my mood/mentality and what a buffer to the pain/anxiety I've been feeling!   A year or so ago, I was asked to speak at a Relief Society meeting on the topic of "Laughter as Spiritual Medicine."  I didn't feel super confident in the topic and it went eh.. so-so.  But after this weekend, I fully believe that laughter IS spiritual medicine!  Ben and I laughed so much and just enjoyed being together and doing something outside of our normal routine.  How healing that was!  How wonderful!

On Friday evening, we ditched our ward camp-out (we. do. not. camp.) and went out to ice cream at the creamery and watched a couple episodes of Coach . . okay, not so out of our normal routine, but we had a great time, especially people-watching at the creamery (it's always fun to watch people try to conquer the "kitchen sink").

On Saturday, (after 2 1/2 years in the Bay Area) we checked something off of our bucket list - bike across the Golden Gate Bridge!  On a tandem bike!

We had to test out the bike and feel good with it before we could leave the rental place . . little did they know that this was NOT our first time on a tandem!

The beautiful view after biking up our first big hill of the day . . high five!

The actual bridge part of the bike ride was RIDICULOUSLY windy and cold!  But we made it, biked down into Sausalito, and dined on hamburgers, fries, and an ice cream cone in the warm, sunny park.  Then, we ferry'ed back to San Francisco and called it a day!

We had a great time, and our laughter has continued into today, and man, what a blessing.  So nice to "get away" and have fun and relax.  I am so glad I have this wonderful man to go through life with and I'm so grateful for laughter as spiritual medicine.  HA!