Im sitting here in the Marriott Park City and realizing that finally today something struck me. I know I realized it for some time but today the actuality of it became quite clear. There were actually two big things that happened this weekend. Ill start with the lesser of the two, as it requires some explanation.
Sunday while I was skiing, at the end of the day, dad and I were heading down the mountain to the base. I was nearly there and the run was more or less flat. Screwing around to see what I could get my skis to do I was doing a nice little tail stall, nothing overly impressive and I decided that I would turn both skis to the right then hop and land facing forwards again. Probably sounds more complicated then it really is, just a hip turn and a jump. Well it was going alright and as I pressed down harder to get ready to do the jump I caught an edge or something and was thrown onto my left side (had spun the skis to the right) and I hopped back up and kept going. Turns out that I broke the break off my ski in that short instant.
This morning I went and screwed it back in and everything was go again. A couple runs into the day I was riding through a nice glade (nine inches of fresh stuff I couldnt resist) and came around in this turn and my ski just clicked off. I was pretty upset as it was the second time that ski had just come off for no reason and proceeded to start digging for it. I kept digging for it for another twenty minutes. I couldnt really give up, as I need two skis to really ski very well. So I just stopped and prayed that I would find that ski and that my day would go better. Within thirty second of my finishing the prayer someone was there asking me if I was alright. I told him I was fine and that I couldnt find one of my skis. He then asked if I broke it and said the break was right in front of him and I asked if he could see the ski down the hill. I was very relieved to find that he saw it and was nice enough to go down and stick it upright for me.
After that minor fiasco I grabbed lunch and then took a couple more runs, when I was just about ready to call it a day the lift broke down. I ended up spending several minutes talking to a couple guys and they asked if I wouldnt mind tagging along with them for the day. I was a little hesitant but agreed (as I thought they were going to the base and I could just leave). The rest of the day has just been great since then on. They were a ton of fun to ski with and were very well rounded riders and really open as well. Hopefully well keep in touch. What has taken this long is me to truly realize how big of a part of my life God plays everyday. I had kind of thought about it a bit more lately but this really helped to cement that reality into my mind even more.
Second thing, I was really looking forward to this weekend, being able to spend time with my dad. Just him and me. It was more or less me seeking approval for what Ive decided to do with my life so far. Im positive that he isnt the most thrilled with me deciding to attend college for a BFA, and was just worried that he might let that bind our relationship. Well the weekend with him was fun, then this morning he met Soren down in SLC and then came back through the hotel to drop off the car and left me a note. Now my dad isnt the most open or emotionally charged person out there, maybe he is just really good at hiding it because he thinks he needs to, Im not sure. However, he signed the note Love Dad. Reading that made my day. Being that its only the second or third time I recall him ever telling me that (and the other time I remember I was in councilor Pauls office with both my parents while the two Pauls [him and I] explained to them what I was going through). To be told that, even through a note in his subtle way, means the world to me. I just couldnt have asked for anything better. And in about 24 hours I will be home again. So Im off until then.
Take care and God bless,
~paul