Snowboarding support

We headed to Northstar today, along with approximately 9000 other people (that's capacity, and I heard they did close the park!). I did NOT want to go. Why?

• I didn't even bring my board, because a whole bunch of little aches and pains would only be exacerbated by snowboarding.
• My confidence on the board is shot after taking a whole season off.
• I had a million better things to do than sit in the lodge and do nothing while my family was having fun.
• I didn't want to be the support crew!!!
  

Somehow I managed to get past my ty mood and decided to make a contribution and try to make the best of the trip (a la The Secret -- what you focus on really can happen). And the day turned into an awesome day in so many ways.

• I parked the car a mile and a half from the resort and had a beautiful walk back, listening to Windham Hill music and loving the snow, the trees, and the sunshine.
• Sitting in the lodge I took the time to read two wonderful books about how to eat -- books that I've owned for quite some time, but never taken the time to really investigate.
• I got to be a part of all the fun Tim and the kids had, by hearing about their accomplishments and just by being there.
• I shared my table with a man who was interested in what I do for a living.

So, let's talk about that last one for a minute. This man -- maybe in his 60s -- was standing against the wall, reading a huge boring work-like document. I offered him a seat, and he gratefully accepted. After a few minutes, he asked me if I was studying for something, and I told him I was a newly certified personal trainer and so yeah, I guess you could say I was studying. He asked me a few questions, then we went back to our reading. Then a few minutes later, more questions -- what does it take to be certified? what kind of clients do you have? What ensued was a really nice conversation about fitness and health and kids and grandkids (he was there with his wife, daughter, and grandson), and so on.

The reason I bring this up is that when I was "just a housewife", people didn't know how to talk to me. I attended parties on more than one occasion, and felt invisible and mute. Much of this may have been my own doing -- I'm somewhat shy in groups of people I don't know. But the point is that something very cool happened today, and it would not have happened if it wasn't for my new profession. And that, friends, felt great!

My final "good thing" of the day was my slow jog (1-1/2 miles at 7000 feet altitude is HARD) back to the car, which I drove right to the snowbooted feet of my family at the bottom of Home Run. On and at In N Out for dinner, I ate exactly 1/2 of my cheeseburger, and 7 french fries -- victory!