Lent Day 31 (Saturday)

Exercise: Cycling 40 miles.  Today was a little windy, but a fantastic day out on the road for a group ride.  I got to go out with the local bike shop and get in some hard earned miles.  As the spring really kicks in, the available rides through the week will only increase, and I'll need to balance my want to ride in these groups versus the need to do more solo work to improve my skills.  

Verse:

Colossians 3:12-15
New King James Version (NKJV)
Character of the New Man¹² Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering;¹³ bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.¹⁴ But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. ¹⁵ And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.

Thoughts:  We've been watching older episodes of Warehouse 13 with the kids, and it has me thinking about how men are perceived.  Pete early on in the show is characters as a goofy guy that plays around and really is rather juvenile.  In the show he's supposed to seem childish, but honestly I admire the writers for creating a likable character that is able to have fun.  To be completely honest, I think he's the character that many young men would like to be:  lighthearted, loyal, and able to find the joy in a lot of simple things.  He's not one of those dark, brooding characters that we are so often given to look up to.  I believe that we need more rights of passage in our society, and that honestly men of my generation are just now starting to mature into responsible human beings; that is to say that the age of mental maturation in men has shifted from 25 to 35 in recent times.  While this is true, at the same time we've lost the ability to have silly fun and just enjoy things with childlike wonder.  Too often I feel the pressure to be the "adult", and having to be the person that is the buzzkill.  More often I need to find the way to lighten up and stop feeling the weight of responsibility and instead find a way to enjoy the time that I get to have with my children.  The time for them to be in my care is quickly fading as they become young adults.  They are learning the basics of how to survive on their own at this point.  I don't want to look back and say I missed out on opportunities with them that I'll never be able to experience again.  Maybe that's why grandparents are known for spoiling their grandkids:  they just want to recapture moments they thought were lost forever.