Day 134: Royal Bike Rides and A Mother's Patience

The weather today was the exact opposite of yesterday. It was lovely, warm and sunny... the perfect day for being out on a bicycle, or just out in general. So that is exactly what we did. We rode our bikes over to the Kungliga nationalstadsparken, or Royal National City Park,  that is tucked behind Tekniska Högskolan, or the technical university. The park stretches back to the Baltic sea and goes north to Stockholm University and south to Djurgården, or the Royal game park, which is another lovely park in the middle of Stockholm that we love to visit. 

It is simply amazing to get on our bicycles and within twenty minutes or less find ourselves riding down a forest trail with barely a hint of city life in sight. Just the vast forest floor, moss-covered and alive with vitsippor (wood anemones) and patches of sunlight streaming through the trees. It doesn't get much better than that. We saw so many people out and about but I think the sight that amazed me most was an elderly pair out in the middle of a field. The man sat on a fallen-over, tree stump while his wife sat next to him on her walker. I couldn't believe that they walked all the way out into this park, in the middle of the forest with her and her walker and there they were in the middle of the field, enjoying the sunny afternoon like everyone else. Just goes to show you that where there's a will there's a way.

On another note I would like to mention that today is Mother's Day in the U.S. I would also like to mention that I have the most wonderful mother in the world. She is my best friend and I love her dearly. I wish I would have been able to bring her a bouquet of flowers and take her out to lunch today, or make a special, home-cooked dinner for her. One of the most difficult aspects of living abroad is being so far away from my family. Holidays and special days like today make it even more difficult but thanks to Skype and Internet we can visit "virtually" and talk on the telephone nearly for free. I wish my mother and all of the other mothers out there a Happy Mother's Day. 

I read an amazing story the other day about a mother writing a letter to her daughter in honor of Mother's Day. The mother talked about how patient she had been when teaching her daughter, as a baby and toddler, how to speak and walk and do things. She asked her daughter for that same patience now that she was older and had a more difficult time "thinking quickly" or remembering all of the details of their conversations etc. The letter was touching and it reminded me of days when I am not so patient with my own mother. We owe our mothers that same patience and love that they gave to us when we were children learning how to navigate life. 

I am not a mother myself but I can imagine that there is a certain patience that grows from a mothers love for her child. May we all be blessed with a mothers patience today and every day. Don't forget to call your mother and tell her that you love her today!