Marit asked what I'm celebrating today.
I'm celebrating this: The official start of climbing season.
Tonight, Brad and the boys (Arnie & Red) and I will hop into the van and drive to Indian Creek, (a climbing area outside Moab) for the weekend. I love weekends in Spring and Fall: leaving town Friday night, giddily anticipating a sunny weekend spent entirely outside. Arriving at the campsite after dark and just crashing, exhausted from the lone drive. The promise of Brad waking me up before sunrise with a cup of strong black coffee, just the way I like it. The day starting out cold enough for hats and down jackets, but warming up to shorts weather by mid-day. Good friends, laughing, trying hard, encouraging each other, getting sandy and dirty from climbs that have been rained and snowed on all winter. Being totally drained at the end of the day, drinking a glass of wine next to a campfire (depending on the camping rules, of course), falling asleep as soon as you close your eyes, and waking up stiff and sore and convinced you can't possibly climb until you step out of the van and look at the cliffs, pink and orange in the light of the rising sun, and suddenly you can't wait to get up there.
And I'm also celebrating the kindness of others. Bloggers I've never met offering supportive words, people I've just met helping me through a tough time, family members calling and emailing and reminding me that I'm loved. I'm a lucky person. I have an incredible support system, and I'm grateful for that.
Thanks, everyone. Have a great weekend.
3 comments:
It's snowing in the South! It's going to be a good weekend.
Does this mean your ski season is over? I'm trying to ignore the flowering trees all around me because we've still got a couple of trips in the hopper. But you're on the money: time to start changing focus . . . soon. We've got a trip up through the Tetons and Yellowstone to Montana this summer. No climbing, but lots of hiking and riding scheduled.
Thanks for being ballsy enough to share the hard times as well as the good ones. I'm not so good at that, but it's on my to-do list.
The road trip through the west sounds great, Cindy! If you make it to Utah, you'll have to stop by. Of course, Utah is hotter than th 10th circle in summer, so it might be better to come to ski.
I share. I'm a cancer, so being entirely open or entirely closed off is all I know. As you can imagine, I'm no good at poker.
Sometimes it just feels better for me to tell everyone what's going on; it changes expectations, you know?
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