Well, there hasn’t been much change from yesterday. Well, except I’m now taking eight pills plus using a steroid cream to keep this thing at bay. Naturally, I’m still miserable with my patches of itchiness/hell and my husband is still an unpaid volunteer. Hopefully, I’ll start to see a change in the skin irritation rather soon. I’d really like to go back to my regular workouts and wear shirts. I’ve resorted to wearing a loose hoodie over my sports bra to stay comfortable. Or at least, try to stay comfortable.
I can’t say that I’m feeling great either. I’m not sleeping well, so I’m super fatigued. Unfortunately, I think the fatigue is magnifying my discomfort. The patches are quite painful and itchy today, which sucks. I feel better today than yesterday. Truthfully, the Mayor saved the day yesterday when he reminded my hubby to pick up my script. My hubby forgot to pick it up on his way home but forgot. Since we’re down to one vehicle at the moment that would have meant I would have had to wait to get my script filled until this evening. As it happened, the rink canceled the Mayor’s practice, so we would have been able to pick it up yesterday evening. Since he had no practice, the Mayor also made dinner. He really saved my evening.
Actually, I lied there has been one change since yesterday. I haven’t received a call from Herz’s vehicle recovery department. Yay for the small victories in life. This may be a byproduct of the flurry of tweets and Facebook messages I sent them yesterday. Unfortunately, I still have not received my closed contract or receipt for the rental. Nor have I heard back from Hertz about either item. Hopefully, the lack of a call this morning forebodes the resolution of my rental car debacle. At this point, I don’t know what’s more painful the shingles or the Hertz rental experience. Either way, stay tuned for an update.
It’s the last day of the work week and my last day of work until 2023. Can I get an amen? Or maybe even a hallelujah? The week has been long as the business has been slow. Everyone that knows me well knows that I need to be busy. Idleness is not my friend. My hope for 2023 is that business goes back to booming as it did in 2021 and early 2022. We shall see. If it stays slow, I guess that will give me ample time and no excuses to not maintain the blog. Since AEP ended, our hours have been glorious. At present, I’m working a 9:00-4:00 pm shift, which is delightful. Hopefully, they’ll cut us loose early as it’s dead. I am not opposed to starting my vacation early.
As we move into the final weeks of 2022, I can’t help but be circumspect over the year that has been 2022. It began for me by bringing in the vicissitude that began in the fall of 2021. To be frank, the end of 2021 and all of 2022 has been hellacious for me. I have found myself in circumstances that one would think only exist in the movies. I mean, honestly, the shit that I have endured can’t be non-fiction. Yet here I am in the muck that is my life. Fortunately, I am one resilient bitch. And like a griffin rising from the ashes, I fully intend to make 2023 my year and reclaim my life.
To be fair, 2022 was not all negative. I have a lot of wonderful things going on in my life. My eldest made it home safely from deployment and continues to thrive in his role. Meanwhile, Goalielocks graduated high school and the Mayor continued to kill it at the rink. Throughout the year, I found myself in Savannah, Charleston, the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, and Utah. Each of these trips was completely and utterly delightful. All three were a complete indulgence of my love of all things travel. For the first time, I went on a nature-oriented excursion and actually saw nature. Whereas usually, I go on a tour that sees nothing and only hears about what the tour before us saw. I cannot tell you how much peace kayaking through waters shared with baby sea turtles and baby sharks can bring a person. It was an absolutely beautiful experience.
When I look back on 2022, I have no doubt that it will reflect a period of transition in my life. Undoubtedly, transitions are not always easy, but changes like death and taxes are a constant of life. For the first time in years, I feel healthy. It has been a long journey back from my diagnosis of Graves Disease. Significantly, it is something I will always contend with, but it feels good to feel normal again. More than that it feels amazing to have shed all of the weight I gained post-RAI (radioactive iodine treatment.). It only took four years, but sometimes losing weight the right way takes time. Lastly, I could not be more proud of my boys. They have grown into emotionally intelligent, mature, and caring men. I’m one proud mama.
State tourney day one, or should I say night one didn’t go our way. After an almost five-hour drive across Florida (including the cluster fuck that is I-4,) we finally made it to the hotel just before 5:00 pm. The drive to Wesley Chapel is always miserable. We were lucky, however, that the weather cooperates. Our hotel was allegedly fifteen minutes from the rink. That estimate of time is apparently representative of driving at midnight because it took us almost forty minutes to get to the hotel from i-75 at 4:00 pm.
While our hotel is closer to the Tampa airport than the rink, it is a great location. There are several restaurants, a beer garden, an ice cream shop, and even a liquor store, so I guess all is not lost. Consequently, we had a great dinner at Brick City. The hubby and I shared a Margherita pizza while the Mayor enjoyed some chicken parm. I loved the pizza! I’d definitely go back. After dinner, we stopped at the beer garden to enjoy some beers and ciders with some fellow hockey parents.
We finally headed to the rink around 7:30 pm. Their first opponent of the tournament was the Makos. All year, the teams have been pretty evenly matched, so it should have been a good game. Well, the first period was good. Our Hawks started the scoring with a beautiful goal in the first. They played a solid first period. However, The second period was an absolute dumpster fire. The hockey gods were not on our side after the first period last night. The squad gave up five unanswered goals in the second period as the Makos capitalized on small mistakes. They also had all the puck last night. There was no puck luck happening for the Hawks last night.
The final score was 7-1, which was obviously a disappointing start to their state tournament. Post-game, we got the Mayor some food before heading back to the hotel. Naturally, the only thing open at midnight was fast food. Unfortunately, the fast food wasn’t so fast. Once he finished eating, he took a warm shower followed by an ice bath. We finally headed to bed well after midnight. It was a long, exhausting day. We’re heading to the rink shortly for the first game of the day. Let’s hope day two of the state tourney is not as disappointing as state tourney day one.
So today’s bloganuary prompt is all about strength today. The old adage that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger is honestly played out. I mean after the last two years, so we even need to test that axiom anymore? Also, if axiom is true, then I’m a fucking Ironman after the last six months I’ve endured. At this point, I’d like to put down the spinach cans and relax a little bit. I don’t need to be flexing my strength like Popeye every day.
From a physical standpoint, I could use some more strength. After a week off, I went back to the BBG workout this week. Honestly, it felt so good to be back at it. If you’re looking for an exercise regimen that balances strength, cardio and stretching, you should definitely check it out. Today was my first day running after a couple of weeks. Unfortunately, this run didn’t no go super well. I was definitely sucking wind after only a few minutes on the treadmill. If only our emotional/mental trials, could make us faster and fitter.
Today at work was good. It sometimes all my strength and self-discipline to not be rude to some of these clients. I had a couple today that were quite special. Thankfully, it’s nothing like the awful clientele I would come across at my precious jobs. Nonetheless, they’re still quite annoying. Inspire of those special folks, I still had an awesome day on the phones. Sales is all about perseverance and resiliency. You can’t let one back call or one bad client derail you day.
It’s hump day and I finally feel human again. I’ve been fighting off a migraine/tension headache since Saturday. Naturally, this is what happens when I don’t stretch and sleep wrong. Apparently at level 41, sleeping wrong wins you a stiff neck and a headache. Talk about winning. Needless to say I’m thrilled that the muscles have loosened up. I definitely have gone back to my morning stretch routine for my neck and shoulders. Hopefully, this will prevent it from happening again.
Nevertheless, it’s been a productive week. I finished building out our 2022 outreach project plan for PurpleStride. Honestly, I’m pretty excited about it as it centralizes all resources and makes the strategy crystal clear. Also, anyone can easily replicate it, which makes succession planning that much easier. This will be crucial over the next seven weeks since I’ll be deep in the throes of AEP.
One thing that I struggle with while working on the event is seeing the names of the recently diagnosed. My friend, and fellow volunteer, were talking about it today. It’s definitely a trigger for PTSD and grief. I hate seeing new team because this disease is so terrible. A new team means someone else got diagnosed. I hate the idea of another family having to fight this disease. But I also love seeing new teams because I know they’ve tapped into the great resources that PanCAN offers pancreatic cancer patients and their families.
I was finally able to run again after missing the last five days. Unfortunately, the tournament schedule was not conducive to running. Moreover, I was not going to run with a headache. Today’s run went well. It was much easier than my runs last week. Once it cools down a little bit more, I’m hoping to run with the puppies in the morning before work. I absolutely prefer running outside to running on the treadmill, however, the Florida heat and humidity make it impossible. Well, it’s hump day and I’m going to finish the evening with some NHL hockey.
Yesterday we had a wonderful adventure on the mountain courtesy of the Farmington Creek Trail – upper canyon section. Goalielocks, the Mayor and myself hiked this trail last year. However that adventure on the mountain went sideways when we got separated on the mountain. In fact, the whole reason I had chosen that trail was so we could rappel down to the waterfall. Obviously, since we got separated, we couldn’t safely rappel to the waterfall.
This time the weather was absolutely perfect. It was in the 60s when we started our hike, but it cooled off dramatically as we ascended the mountain. Last year, it was over 96 degrees when we hiked the trail. One thing this trail has is plenty of shade, which is awesome. The trees all around us were spectacularly colored. I definitely miss the fall colors.
The hike itself is a 3 mile up and back hike with an elevation gain of 950. It’s not an easy hike, but is bit overly hard either. It’s challenging in a good way. After the hike, both times, I felt proud of my accomplishment. This time the younger two patiently waited at the waterfall for us all to get there. I was a bit concerned they would try to rappel down to the waterfall without us.
At the turn around point is a beautiful waterfall. To get down to the waterfall, you have to rappel down a 50 foot rocky wall. Needless to say, it looked quite intimidating especially after the first half of the hike. The hubby went first to make sure the rest of us were able to make it down safely. Surprisingly, the descent was the hardest part.
Once we all made it down to the bottom, we explored a little bit and took some pictures. The temperature near the waterfall was probably in the 40s as the mountain water was quite cold. After taking some pictures and catching our breath, we headed back up the rock wall. The ascent was definitely easier, but I still had to sit and let my heart rate come back to normal.
The descent down the trail was much easier than the ascent. In fact, it really gave us an opportunity to drink in the beauty of our surroundings. Some of maple trees leaves had become a vibrant pink, while others had become a light peach color. The fall colors were absolutely spectacular up close. We also had beautiful views of the Great Salt Lake. The rain, the region got Tuesday night, cleared out the smoky haze nicely.
Unbeknownst to us, the real adventure was to begin as we left the trailhead. Apparently, the forest ranger had opened the trailhead in error. Upon realizing his error, he decided to lock the gates to the trailhead. That’s right folks, the ranger locked us and our fellow hikers in the Wasatch National Forest. Apparently, an old couple was leaving as he locked the gates. Initially, he told them he’d open the gates again at 6:00 pm. Eventually, he acquiesced and told them he’d open it once he finished his work in forty five minutes. It’s important to note the trailhead has no facilities, no benches, tables or bathrooms. Moreover, he could have let the old couple leave instead of insisting they wait for him.
By the time, we reached the line to leave it was already four cars deep. The whole experience was a bit disconcerting given we had all drank a bunch of water when we got back to the car. Eventually, we got sick of sitting, so we walked down to the gate to checkout the lock situation. Sadly the padlock was encase in a giant medal pole making it difficult to smash it open. As we, and several of our fellow hikers examined the gate, the Forest Ranger came back to open it up.
This ranger, who locked it and wouldn’t unlock it for the old couple, was wearing dress slacks, a white shirt and a forest service vest. Nonetheless, I can’t imagine the type of work he was doing on the road in that outfit. Honestly, it smacked of a power trip. After all, he opened the park in error. Upon realizing his error, he shouldn’t have locked all the hikers in the park.
Once we left the forest, we got gas and headed back to Ogden. We were all bit hungry, so we stopped and got everyone a burger and In N Out. It was the perfect amount of food to tide us over until dinner. Speaking of dinner, we headed to Rovalis the home of lavender lemonade for a nice dinner. The Mayor has been obsessed with this lemonade since he first tried it last year. We ended our night with a rousing game of hot seat.
Let me start off this blog by wishing my mom a very happy birthday! Honestly, I wish we could be there to celebrate and with her a happy birthday in person. Hopefully, we’ll get to Minny sometime soon. Fortunately, they’ll be joining us on our trip west this fall to visit Jake.
As I celebrate mom’s birthday today , I’m reminded of precious years’ celebrations. Perhaps my favorite is when we celebrated her birthday as an entire family in Flam. It was wonderful seeing her sit between her mom and wonderful sister. Their smiles were boundless. Truly, it was a trip of a lifetime. I’ll never forget sharing this trip with my kids, my parents and my grandma. I’m also looking forward to returning to Norway.
Today was a great day for many reasons. First, we get to celebrate my mom – she’s awesome. Secondly, my friend and former employee (who I consider family) got great news today. His CT showed that the chemo is working! Hallelujah! I would, however, ask that you keep my friend B in your prayers. Lastly, I carried this positive energy with me all day at work. I freaking killed it today!
During lunch, I hung with the dogs and watch the ducks (Bitey 1 and 2) enjoy the mangos our tree dropped. Fortunately, the ducks didn’t find the mangos until after I took the dogs out. Before heading back to work, I spent some time meditating in legs up the wall pose to refocus for the rest of the day. This helps me expel the stress and energy of the morning. Consequently, Anakin tried to join me, which always makes me giggle.
Here’s a list of our day’s activities:
*I read Demons, by Dostoevsky. I am really enjoying this book so far.
*I absolutely slayed my day at work! That’s three days in a row!
*I ran 1.5 miles and walked a mile. Instead of working out in the morning, I decided to run after work.
*The family and I are back to watching Thirty Rock. We’ve now moved on to season six.
*I made a new beef tips recipe in the Instant Pot tonight. It was super yummy!
*My favorite surprise on the underwater cams, I watch during work, is seeing an octopus. Today I watched the safari cam, which never disappoints.
*There were big thunderstorms today all afternoon. I really need to look into a surge protector for my work equipment.
*Today’s word of the day is self. I love to recenter myself before heading into the second half of my day.
*I took my puppies including sweetAnakin for a walk. Did I mention I hate gnats, flies, and mosquitos? Thankfully, the fly traps arrived today. Emphatically, I’m absolutely sick of those little buggers.
Inevitably after every hockey tournament comes the post-tournament recovery period. As I get older, I have found that this period gets longer and longer. It’s a marvel at how watching one’s child play hockey can leave one utterly exhausted. Yet, here I was again this week in a prolonged post-tournament recovery period.
Perhaps it is because I didn’t sleep well while in Tampa. Or perhaps it was because I inadvertently took two of my Cytomel (T3) instead of a T3 and a T4 pill. I blame the Hilton Garden Inn and their blackout shades. Fortunately, the T3 wears off within hours, so I was mildly uncomfortable for most of Monday. I was nervous, however, that my overly active stomach wouldn’t settle down before I drove back across the state. Mercifully, it settled down before we left Tampa. Nonetheless, the medicine mess up left me feeling tired the following two days.
As for the hockey, it was incredible. My boy was on fire all weekend. I love watching him work with his teammates to find ways to score. They really came together last weekend. We ended up losing in the finals, but not before we made the Makos work for it. The Mayor’s team fought hard to come back from a 2-0 deficit. In the end, a heartbreaking goal with 34 seconds left in the third ended their championship hopes. My boy received the second star of the game but in the face of defeat that didn’t matter.
Goalielocks’ team was in action as well, but that shit show of a scrimmage will get its own post. As will the poor behavior of the other team and the officials. Unfortunately or fortunately, I was not in town to watch the game myself. I only got damage reports post-game. When I finally get around to writing that post, you’ll want popcorn. After all the game was more of a train wreck than 90 Day Fiancee.
Since I was exhausted and a bit under the weather, I took rest days on Monday and Tuesday. In reality, I just didn’t have time to workout Monday between the Mayor’s two hockey games and the three-hour commute back home. Nonetheless, I started BBG 3.0 on Wednesday. Kayla Itsines may be the devil because she killed me Wednesday and again today. I also missed two days running, so my clock for a month restarted the months 9th.
As for this weekend, we are now under a Tropical Storm watch, flood warning, etc. A system developed off our coast this afternoon. Fortunately, it will be weak as it passes over us. We will, however, have to watch the rain totals and the potential for tornados. Otherwise, it will be the perfect weekend for getting stuff done around the house.
*It’s day nine of virtual school. This week has been much better.
*I ran a mile and walked a mile today.
*Tonight my husband made shepherd’s pie for dinner while I finished my run. Unsurprisingly, my persnickety children were not a fan of the dish. I, however, quite enjoyed it.
*BBG 3.0 week 1 day 3: arms, cardio and yoga
*I took my puppies including sweetAnakin for a walk.
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Yep, you read that right I was left on the mountain. It all happened at the Farmington Creek Trail just south of Layton. I picked this trail for our Thursday hike because it features: a car cemetery, two waterfalls (including the one you could rappel down to), and a moderate degree of difficulty. Admittedly, I am not fast on my ascent up the trails. Due to the Graves disease, I’m mindful of my maintaining my heart rate and regulating my body temperature. This, of course, is not always easy when hiking. Consequently, my ascent was slow, measured, and littered with water breaks.
On the flip side, the hike for my boys was quite easy. Goalielocks soon pulled away from both the Mayor and me as he ran up the trail. I was jealous at the ease with which he tackled the mountain. In protest, the Mayor sped ahead on his own. Fortunately, when the Mayor got to the first waterfall, he waited for me. On the other hand, I couldn’t find Goalielocks. The challenge became the fork in the trail. Unfortunately, the park service hadn’t clearly marked the trail. Fortuantely, we were able to ask local hikes which way to go. Meanwhile, we had no idea which way Goalielocks had gone at the fork.
I decided to follow the trail to the second waterfall hoping we’d find Goalielocks on the trail. Undeniably, I was nervous that nobody had seen him. At this point, we were so deep into the canyon that we didn’t have cell service. As we continued the trail, the Mayor again took off down the path. Meanwhile, I vacillated between anger, frustration, and awe. As I rounded the bend, I saw a vintage car overtaken by the forest with bullet holes all over. It was quite picturesque. At this point, the Mayor came back to me expressed his discontent with the hike, and headed back to the car.
Now they really annoyed me. Yet, I was determined to see the waterfall. I continued down the path looking for the ropes that would take me down to the base of the waterfall. As I searched the area, I finally got a call from Goalielocks who was at the car waiting. Eventually, I found the ropes that could take me down to the waterfall. However, with unreliable cellphone service and nobody near me, I wasn’t willing to risk a fall or injury by rappelling down to the waterfall. Consequently, I started making my way back to the car where both boys were impatiently waiting for me.
Since I knew they were safe at the car, I was in no hurry to finish my hike. The canyon and trail provided beautiful vista after beautiful vista that I wanted to take it all in. Also, the ascent wore me out as it was a vigorous hike. When I made it back to the first waterfall, I took a seat on a large boulder near the side of the stream and relaxed for a bit. In this spot, the mountain stream and shade cooled the air. It was a magical spot to rest and recover before tackling the sunny part of the descent to the car.
While I was sitting at the waterfall, the Mayor made his way back up the trail in search of water. I had brought my backpack, filled with water bottles and oranges to keep us nourished throughout and after the hike. However, since I was the only one willing to carry it, all of the supplies were with me. Consequently, when he got thirsty he had no choice, but to seek me out. Naturally, he received quite a tongue lashing from me once we met again on the mountain. Soon after we met up with Goalielocks, who had come up the trail looking for me out of concern it was taking too long. Of course, I had been almost four miles deep into the trail, so it wasn’t going to be a quick return.
Goalielocks took a left at the first waterfall, which took him on a significantly shorter trail. Eventually, both of the trails meet up near the second waterfall. However, his trail was overgrown as it approached the waterfall trail. Goalielocks headed back the way he came since he wasn’t sure where the trail led. The hillside where he hiked was filled with vintage cars, known as the car cemetery. On our descent, I learned that he had told his brother where he was going. Unfortunately, the Mayor neglected to tell me this. I was super annoyed with the Mayor at this point. I want to rappel down to the waterfall and I couldn’t because I was alone. Naturally, we spoke at length, on our way back to the Airbnb, about the importance of staying together during hikes.
Despite all the drama on the mountain, this was definitely one of my favorite hikes. The trail affords incredible views of the Great Salt Lake, the valley, the mountains and the canyon. Everywhere you looked, it was absolutely beautiful. Moreover, it was an incredibly peaceful hike as the trail was not crowded. I look forward to hiking this trail again with Jake and my hubby. Hopefully, we’ll get to see some fall colors on the hike and even have the chance to rappel down to the waterfall.
Here’s a list of our day’s activities:
*I read The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath. This is an interesting book.
*Gentle Flow with Jennifer at Open Heart Yoga Studio
*I went for a mile run. Yesterday, I ran two miles.
*BBG 2.0. week 10 day 5: Abs, cardio and yoga
*It’s tough to be a parent, especially in this environment. I am lamenting the start of a new virtual school year.
*We have two more weeks until we start virtual school.
*This morning we were in cone of uncertainty for TS Laura.
*Goalielocks has his first official practice this evening. The new season has started. Party on!
*This week I have run seven miles so far!
*Today I ordered my first Butcher Box.
*For dinner, we are cooking a HelloFresh meal. I can’t wait to taste it! We are loving HelloFresh.
*I was left on the mountain. I had no trouble surviving the ordeal!
*Recently, I’ve been collecting checks for our team fund.
*I learned a new word today soupcon. This word means a small amount.
*I took my puppies including sweetAnakin for a walk.
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After a wonderful two wonderful trips and a week to recover, I’m finally feeling replenished. Both of our July/August trips were soul-soothing and nurturing. Admittedly, I had a much harder time leaving Utah than I did leave the Keys. I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to leaving my oldest son behind. Thus, in leaving Utah, I left a big piece of my heart there. My goal was to write every day, but I found myself, selfishly, wanting to savor every last minute with my airmen. And even once on the plane home, I found myself cherishing the visit and not wanting to share my feelings. Lest that feeling of deep internal happiness and peace be lost upon sharing my feelings.
My mom warned me halfway through the trip that I should probably take it easy because it was going to hit me like a truck when I got back to Florida. Naturally, she was right. However, there were so many trails to hike so many new vistas and waterfalls to explore, I couldn’t hold it back. After all, the Rockies weren’t going to climb themselves. Of course, this is probably why it took me over a week to feel replenished.
I planned our last two days out west to be action-packed. On Friday, we took it pretty easy comparatively and went back to the Hill Aerospace Museum. We had gone the day before, but Jake wanted to explore it with us. This quickly became one of our favorite spots. Unfortunately, they were assembling an F-117 stealth fighter, so the fighter wing was still closed. All the more reason to go back for another visit when we head back that way later this year. It was fun to take in the history of the Air Force with my man in uniform. It was even more fun to see kids react to him in uniform.
Afterward, we headed back on base to grab lunch at the BX and hang out at his dorm. The BX was nice because it offered variety at the perfect price point. Once we had our lunch, we enjoyed some vintage Simpsons episodes as we ate. The boys were itching to play COD against each other, so they spent the next hour or so playing Xbox. As a mom, I’ve never been so gratified to watch my boys play Xbox. Perhaps because they’ve been apart for so long or perhaps it was the big smiles on their faces. Either way, I was one happy mama. For dinner, we went back to our favorite Rovalis before heading back to the Airbnb. Sadly, I had to pack us up, so we were ready to leave the next day. The highlight of our Friday night was a dip in the hot tub.
I woke up Saturday morning to my alarm followed by a text that Jake had made it to our AirBnB. Fortunately, for me big brother was willing to risk life and limb to wake up Goalielocks. Truly, it was nice not to have to face that epic task. Once everybody was up and ready to go, we packed our cars and headed south to Big Cottonwood Canyon. Jake wasn’t able to hike with us to Donut Falls, so I wanted to be sure he saw the Canyon before we left. This time we chose a hike up the Willow Lake Trail, which was just a few miles west of Donut Falls. As expected, Jake was blown away by the natural beauty of the canyon.
Jake and I stayed together for much of the hike. Goalielocks quickly sprinted ahead, while the Mayor not so quietly complained ahead of us. On this hike, we gained about 1,600 feet. The hike started at nearly 7,000 feet above sea level. My calves hated the beginning of this hike. Jake and I stopped multiple times to stretch our calves. Admittedly, I also needed to take a moment to let my heart rate drop a bit. This hike was through a beautiful birch and conifer forest with views of the surrounding peaks everywhere you looked. When we got near the top, it opened up into a meadow of wildflowers with a backdrop of the forest and mountains. As I told Jake, the view did not suck.
We finally made it up to the lake where Goalielocks had made friends with a mama duck and her ducklings. It was incredibly peaceful at the lake. The trail was never crowded. Since we were now up over 8,500 feet, the temperature was cool and the gentle breeze felt wonderful. After making the effort to climb to the lake, we hung out for awhile taking in the scenery. Next time I’ll bring a blanket and some snacks as there are plenty of spots near the lake to enjoy a picnic lunch. Naturally, the hike back down the mountain was much easier and enjoyed it together. Hiking Utah and enjoying nature with my boys and Melody was my favorite part of the trip.
I booked a red-eye flight, so we could spend all Saturday exploring the area with Jake. As a hockey family, we made the obligatory pilgrimage to Pure Hockey and the local rink in Murray. I found an awesome brewery just south of Pure Hockey for us to try for lunch. We had an amazing meal! I can’t tell you how much we enjoyed supporting the locally-owned restaurants and stores. Anyway back to lunch, I ate the best BBQ wings I’ve ever had. We finished off our day, with a tour of downtown Salt Lake City including Temple Square, the Capitol building, and the mall. By the time, we headed to the airport, we had seen and done a lot for one day.
As the time of our departure drew nearer, my heart grew heavier. I couldn’t help lamenting that this incredible trip was about to be over. Honestly, I drew it out as long as I could by hanging out at the cell phone lot for as long as we could. When it was time to say goodbye, my heart was full of joy and pride, but also a little broken. I don’t suppose it will ever get easier to leave one behind, but I am blessed that he is in a great place. He’s got a wonderful job, boss, and community of support surrounding him every day. Reluctantly, I boarded that plane back to Florida and then spent all of last week recovering. Thankfully, I’m back to my regular routine.
Here’s a list of our day’s activities:
*I read The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath
*Vinyasa yoga with Jennifer at Open Heart Yoga Studio
*I went for a two mile run. Yesterday, I ran a mile.
*BBG 2.0. week 10 day 2: Cardio and yoga
*It’s tough to be a parent, especially in this environment. I am lamenting the start of a new virtual school year.
*Goalielocks has his first official practice this evening. The new season has started. Party on!
