Dear friends,
On Monday, I got back from a 5 day trip to Seattle and Whistler, where 20 of some of my best friends went up for an extended weekend of skiing and general debauchery.
Whistler Blackcomb is one of my favorite mountains, but conditions on our first day of skiing were less than ideal. About an inch of powder lay over sheets of ice, and more than once we found our skis skating over rocks and trees. It was a bit of a rough start.
Then, on one of our last runs of the day, I found myself whizzing down a groomer. Due to the icy conditions, I was going fast but 100% in control. Before me was a lip from a groomed cat track. “A fun little jump”, I thought to myself, so I hit it going fairly fast. WHOOPS, I noticed too late that below me was not a groomed line but a heavy mogul field. And that’s what I slammed, knee first, right into an icy mogul, ending my day (and weekend, and month) of skiing.
The good news is it’s not a fracture or full tear. My doctor suggested it was a partial tear or a sprain, and I agree (no MRI yet, I feel fairly confident that it’s just a bad sprain). The bad news is I was unable to finish my weekend skiing at Whistler. The even worse news is it’s starting to snow, hard, here in Tahoe. We’re looking at 7-9 feet over 7 days. It’s been a bit of a bummer.
But, as a good friend reminded me, this is a test of patience and gratitude. It’s easy to wake up to 2 feet of snow and get disappointed that I can’t go out and ski. It’s easy to want to ski on my knee anyways. But sometimes a positive mental attitude requires taking the harder route, and that’s what I’m focusing on. It takes mental grit, awareness, and deep breathing, but I’m 7 days into my cabin lockdown and maintaining a positive attitude. I may not be able to adventure and explore, but the beauty around me is captivating. When the entire lake is whitewashed, a certain magic is in the air. Even just stepping outside to take out the trash, you can feel it around you.
Life is about taking your experiences-the good and the bad- and creating a mental space and awareness in yourself to appreciate every moment. My knee may be hurt, but it will heal. Pain is temporary, but the memories I create here are forever. I feel extremely fortunate to be able to call this place home, if only for a little while longer, and some of the friendships I’ve created here will last a lifetime. That, in itself, makes everything else worth it.
Love and peace, humans,
emily
(ps- the picture was taken by one of my friends who had the pleasure of enjoying a bluebird powder day at Whistler the day after I hurt my knee…lucky bastards)
(pps-I still had a blast at Whistler.)