Benjamin and I continue to head to the gym. Today we plopped down on stationary bikes side by side and clicked the screens to choose a work-out. He was five seconds ahead of me, by the time we had both adjusted our seats and slipped our feet in the pedals. Then we began. 

My eyes wandered across the many people also moving their bodies. There is such variety in the shapes and conditions of those packages, I am never bored simply observing them. It is a relief to not be the frumpiest person in the room. Still, even though there is a spectrum of sizes, we are all similar in our basic anatomy. We all benefit from exercise. 

The work-out we picked yesterday had ups and downs. Not literally, but virtually. As we saw the hill in front of us, the difficulty built into the resistance of the pedals increased. We had the option to lower it manually to level one, which is what we did. 

The thing is, since Ben was a few seconds ahead of me, I knew what was coming. When I glanced at his screen, I noticed a red truck coming, or the clouds shaped like a cornucopia. Then the same ones appeared on my screen. When his difficulty increased to fifteen, I knew that mine would soon, and was ready to dial it down. 

When my kids were little, I used to look to mothers who were farther along than I was, in that their children were older. It helped to have a glimpse of my own future. I felt the same time warp watching Benjamin's screen, thinking he was facing a road just around my next bend. 

One time I got distracted when the number jumped up and did not promptly lower it. He looked askance at me.

"What are you waiting for?" his eyes seemed to ask. 

Then I responded. We kept pedaling. In truth, his legs are longer and his energy stronger, so his statistics are always better than mine. But it is still sweet to do it together.