Bicycle Built for Two

I've never ridden on one, but I have vivid memories of a puzzle at my grandparent's house in Pennsylvania that depicted one. I loved that puzzle, and every time we would visit I would complete it not once, or even twice, but probably a few times daily! While I would work on that puzzle, my grandmother would sit in one of her lazy chairs in a big old housedress and sing, in the shaky, broken voice of an old woman:

Daisy, Daisy,
Give me your answer do!
I'm half crazy,
All for the love of you!
It won't be a stylish marriage,
I can't afford a carriage
But you'll look sweet upon the seat
Of a bicycle made for two.

I can remember this so vividly because so many images would go through my mind. Things like riding to my wedding in a carriage, riding on a bicycle built for two, riding to my wedding in my wedding gown on a bicycle built for two! All my grandmother's little diddys always sent me back in time, wondering what life was like before cars or bathrooms, back when Daisy was a popular name. I would always envision my grandmother growing up like that, and she was quite happy to share with me how difficult her life was, how she never bothered to complete high school because she had to work and how unfortunate she was to grow up without her father around, something that was quite taboo back in the early 1900's.

While I loved visiting with my grandparents and I savor the memories I made there, I see that my own mother has fostered a different kind of memory making for her grandchildren. She takes them places, teaches them things, rarely talks about growing up having to take care of her mom, who didn't drive (she reserved those stories for her own children!), and rarely do my girls ever imagine how difficult life must have been when she grew up. She lives in the present with them, and their memories will be vivid and experiential. There's not a puzzle in that house they've done a thousand times because there's nothing to - quite the contrary.

I'm so thankful for my mom, and if I was going to try to ride a bicycle built for two, I'd love to try it with her!