A cycle and a surprise

Woke this morning with a sense of purpose.  Having cleaned Pete's old room, thought I'd buy a new lock for his window; might also paint the walls and replace the door, a panel of which has been kicked in by petulant Pete during one of his adolescent rages.

No more empty-nester tears; house in pristine condition; day off; no school work to catch up on; fine weather.  Bike ride? Yeah.

Headed off in a different direction: from Moreland Road, Essendon, towards Puckle Street, Moonee Ponds.  And riddle me ree!  What a circuitous quest that turned out to be as I pedalled up and down unfamiliar streets and into dead ends while trying to rejoin the Moonee Ponds Creek bike path after it had suddenly ended.  To the local council I say, how about some freaking signs?  I completely lost my sense of direction!  When I finally regained the bike path, had to look which way the creek was flowing so I'd know which way to go!

Knew I'd gone too far when I hit the Citylink toll way.  Stood on the pedals and cycled up to the overpass to get my bearings and quite a good view.  I'd overshot my destination by at least a kilometre.  However, that led me up some Moonee Ponds back streets to places I haven't really seen since the early 1980s.  Lots of development since then, of course, and some very pricey real estate. New townhouses abound amongst the renovated Victorian, Federation and Californian bungalow styled housing.  Autumn leafy; quite beautiful.  A pleasant mix of old and new, really.

Nearly lost it in Queen's Park as I wheeled the bike through.  Got a bit of a lip wobble happening as I watched a beautiful little boy, about 12 months old at a guess.  He toddled down a hillock, pointed up at an aeroplane, did one of those wide eyed stares at me.  Didn't help that Joni Mitchell was suddenly singing The Circle Game in my head.  A couple of tears escaped but they dried in the breeze.  (BTW if you're a menopausal empty-nester circa mid-fifties, click that link at your own risk!)  Then blow me down, a fountain jetted up out of the middle of the lake as ducks dipped their heads into the water.

After a bit of a wander in Puckle Street, cycled home; a good 14k round trip.

And, ROFL, there's Pete, back home, availing himself of the facilities!  He's busily applying for jobs on-line; has cooked himself some lunch and is ironing shirts for potential interviews.  He's assured me that he hasn't yet got a 'partner'.  He's sharing his flat with two other blokes.  Having neither a TV nor internet facilities, he's actually read The Hunger Games in one sitting and is keen to read the next book in the series - when he can afford to buy a copy.

In fact, what was I worried about?   Should have had more faith in my own parenting skills.