The bike people

I just returned a few days ago from making my annual holiday trip to see my family.  You know all the stories you hear about stress and anxiety over those type of holiday visits?  Well, that's me.  I'm heading into the "belly of the beast" so to speak.  I solved a lot of the problems when I decided to stay in a hotel room instead of at my mother's house.  It gives me my me time without being bothered.

This trip I had my mental strategies in place.  I do this each time I go down, but usually forget them by the second day and want to come home to my husband and my dogs and my routines.  I'm happy to report this was the best trip I've ever had down there!

It began with listening (again) to Pema Chodron's  Don't Bite the Hook .  Yes, I've listened to it on other trips down and tried to remember what she'd talked about while in the midst of a visit.  Something about this trip really had it sink in.  I think one of the reasons is I started using the advice while I was driving through horrific, holiday traffic for six hours.

It started with the "bike people".  They were driving an older model light tan car hauling two bicycles wrapped in plastic on the back.  We were "dance partners" through three states.  You know what I'm talking about.  The vehicle you pass and ends up out of eye sight.  Fifteen to twenty minutes later they're passing  you and barreling on up the road.  I  have my cruise on and catch up and pass them again, and vice versa.
This would normally piss me off.  I have no clue why, but it would.  I was listening to Pema when I passed them again (for the fourth or fifth time).  I decided to change my mind set and began calling them the "bike people".  Instead of being ticked off I'd laugh when the passes occurred saying (out loud) there's the bike people.  I almost began looking forward to our little back and forth. I had changed my mind set and made something which  usually irks me and turned it into a sort of fun game.
My final stop before reaching my destination was a rest area....and guess what?  The bike people were there!  They were an elderly couple and somehow I felt like I'd gotten to know them in some weird way.  I was very tempted to ask for a picture of them standing at their car with their bikes.  I'm not quite ready for that type of step.  One of these days though....