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| The Year of Rhonda |
I jokingly have referred to this year as the "Year of Rhonda". In fact, it has been a great year, but I have spent a fair amount of time spinning my wheels wondering whether to search for work/to not search for work, getting out and doing/and feeling kind of like I'm biding my time until something else happens... It has been a great year by all measures, but I will confess to experiencing some real feelings of lows and highs. I know that having coffee, lunching with friends, working out when I please, keeping the house in order, volunteering, hiking, skiing...there is a certain luxury in that. I feel it and I appreciate it. But there are times when the uncertainty of each day is preoccupying and I know deep down I could be doing "more"...for myself, for my family, for others.
All this to say, these last few days this has absolutely NOT been the case. I seized the moment and I embraced the Year of Rhonda with both arms and gave it a hug. I look forward to spring skiing with all my heart. I generally like to ski, but I could honestly take it or leave it on the days I need to contemplate goggles, turtle fur snuggly around my neck and all but a hint of a person showing beneath all those clothes. Do not misunderstand me. I have reflected upon each day I have skiied this year, and there have happily been enough for me. I can think of a reason that every single day was good in one way or another. There was my birthday ski....cold and foggy as all get out, but my girlfriends treated me like a queen. I wore my tiera to the mountain, enjoyed an extra cocktail with my favorite panini and life was good. There was another day, just after one of our major storms, where the snow was perfect. There was real powder to almost replicate skiing out west (almost) and the actual skiing was great. Another day I recall was cold, but one of the most spectacularly beautifully scenic days I have experienced on the mountains of Vermont. The ice crystals glimmered from the branches of each tree as the sun began beating on them and through the picture perfect deep blue sky you could see forever. Of course, the days I skiied with my kids hold a special place in my heart because there is a feeling of great pride that comes from watching as your kids just pick up a sport with such ease...and then go on to display their indepence riding the chairlift together, alone or with people they have never even met and they tackle the black diamond they have been dreaming about getting down. Then, of course, there were nights of apres ski and beer and pizza in the lodge with long-time friends. Oh, and the day I spent thinking of my father from the top of his favorite peak. Special moments happen up on those mountains. It has been a great run. I think one of the reasons this makes me so happy....and surprises me a bit....is that all this happened
in addition to a great hockey season. I feel so fortunate that we can enjoy both like we have. This likely will not happen every year. My kids still vote for hockey and I think as their love of the sport grows the increasing financial committments will be directly proportional. That may mean we can't continue to do both. But, when all else fails, I can look back on this winter and smile.
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| Spring "skiing" at its best |
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| Ahhhhhh..... |
O.K. Back to my love of spring skiing. I guess all I have to do is share these photos. They really tell the story of the past two days of incredible spring skiing. The beauty of this time of year is that it encompasses everything I love most.....warm sun with no layering strategy necessary, fantastic spring snow conditions - you love them or you hate them - I love them....and the pure beauty of the mountains all around. These past two days were a great ending to a great season. Life is good. As I move through the lows and highs of this year, this is definitely a high peak!
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On the last day of our season, Dan and I finally got one
without kids...the first time in years! |
