Skiier Smiles

So, the world is kind of a mess right now.  After a relatively calm start to the year, on January 6th we witnessed an attempted insurrection in our nation's capital as the Senate worked to count the electoral college votes to make Joe Biden's win official. Senators were just about to start 2 hours of debate because a number of members had voiced objections to the results, based on allegations of fraud (with no evidence to back them up). Senators were taken into lockdown (along with the electoral ballots, carried to safety by 4 female staffers with amazing presence of mind) while a bunch of buffoons in maga hats and face paint ransacked the Capitol and broke into offices.  There was a shocking lack of security and police enforcement in place, especially after the riot gear and tear gas and rubber bullets that met Black Lives Matter protesters over the summer. The President himself incited them to march on the capital and fight for the stolen election, then went silent and did not condemn the violence.  Infuritating and unsettling-- and also strangely abstract.  Life went on with work and school and dishes, even as the government was shut down.  And then government resumed and the senators went back to work, with a delay to give many speeches full of platitudes of peace and unity.  Biden's election was certified, and as of right now, about 60 of the rioters have been arrested and Trump has been banned from Twitter and Facebook for inciting violence, and Democrats are pushing for impeachment and/or the 25th amendment.  The general fear is that, with no significant, high level repercussions for this behavior, there will be more attacks and, eventually, potential for civil war or a sucessful coup in the future.  

So, you know.  Just a normal first week of January, right?

Meanwhile-- life does go on. The kids and I started back to school -- all remote for all of us, at least for one week (back to in person in Solon on the 11th).  Working from home had some lovely silver linings, with extra time for sleep, opportunities to go for a run over lunch, and the best commute ever.  And- we've been going skiing.  Frequently.  Having season passes is both freeing and high-pressure. We are doing our best to get to 8 visits because its all gravy after that.  We want to get out as often as possible but its also OK to only ski for an hour. 

Conditions have been very... Ohio.  Big piles of cornmeal mush on the few runs that are open, big crowds even with the "reservations only" Covid policy in place.  But that's not going to stop us from having fun!  After our first afternoon (most of which was spent on the surface lift portion of the bunny hill with Ivy), Nat and I brought the kids home and then went back out for more, and skiied two hours with the snow blowers going full blast, our goggles icing over on each run.  We had a great time.

Ivy has made steady progress, mastering the lift on day 3 and today, day 4 for her, she graduated to Blue and officially became a real skiier.  

It's been fun to watch her learn to love the sport, changing from "I don't want to ski" to "Let's go again, that was great!"

Today we were graced with a sunny afternoon and we soaked up the Vitamin D in the crisp cold air and rode up the quad chair as a family of four and every one of us had a great time.   And our season pass was suddenly worth every single penny. 

I am so grateful to have this opportunity for leisure and activity and fun even in the midst of the chaos of our world.   There't not much we can control in this madness, so we'll just have to put on our skiier's smiles and enjoy the days we're given.  Love and peace (and peaceful transition) to all of you.