Our beaches closed today. A stern response to a sunny weekend where social distancing seemed to be a fantasy to many–they were imagining Spring Break instead. The state, the city, the county came down hard. Beaches, parks and trails are closed. Stay home. Walk in your neighborhood. Get serious about fighting this virus.

I saw it coming, but it didn’t make it less painful. But luckily for me, a new toy…or tool arrived in the mail yesterday. And after a long day of remote learning for me and teleconferencing for my husband, we cut the straps on that big box and began the assembly.

My role when it comes to putting things together is to organize the pieces, get rid of the packaging, and prepare to hand out the nuts and bolts and screws and pieces. And after about an hour, voila, we now have a stationary bike!

My preference for exercise is always to be outdoors. Walking and hiking are my activities of choice. And the beach is my number 1. But for the immediate future, I’ll be pedaling. I did get up early and walk the neighborhood this morning. And I tried the bike this afternoon…with my kindle in hand. I read and pedaled. It’s not the beach…but, oh well, sometimes you have to change your behavior for the public good.