The Struggle for Seventy: Pushing through the Holiday Season at Killington

I will be the first to admit it.
I am exhausted.

On January 2nd, I hit 60 days for the season.
It is now January 13th and i am still struggling to hit seventy days.
The alarm clock beeps at 5:45am and I groan.

Taking a deep breathe in, i let the memories of the previous day overtake me.
Eight hours of work in the shop.
followed immediately by 6 hours behind the bar.

Do I really want to go skiing today?

Another Deep Breathe...
Because I cannot believe that thought has even crossed my mind.

But the thought has.
and I can't shake it.

I begin to wonder if I
even have the energy
to stand up for yet another
14 hour work day.

After spending 90 minutes
skinning up the mountain.

I take another deep breathe,
a tear rolls down my face.

And I succomb to my exhaustion.

And so I work.
All Day.
and then
All Night.

I smile as I talk about how awesome the skiing,
because I know it must have been.
I can look outside my window and imagine
how glorious the snow must be as it bakes in the sunshine.
I scroll through and see
the smiling faces of my friends
as they celebrate the January Thaw
with run after run of bumps made from soft, corn snow.

I take a deep breathe.

And I hear my boss calling my name.
"Merisa?"

I turn around,
thinking that I must have
faded away
into a
daydream.

Feeling the snow,
gliding under my skis.
I am floating,
Gliding,
Skiing.

"Oh, wait,
Sorry, D.
What did you want?"

"It is gorgeous outside.
Why don't you grab Vespi and go out for a skate ski?"

I jump up from behind the counter,
breaking away from the computer screen.

I am out of the shop in less than five minutes.

And so I get in my seventieth day on skis for this winter.

Phew.

May You Find the Spirit of the Mountains Within You.

(and thanks so much, Diane, Mike and the staff at Base Camp Outfitters for letting me get in a few very much needed laps on Orange!!