Risk Assessment

Here's a post I actually started back in January:

In high school I rode a Sky Coaster. It's one of those ridiculously tall bungee/swing things. I thought it was fabulous.

After my freshman year of college I spent the summer in Santa Cruz. I went spelunking while there. Shimmied through holes deep in the ground that you couldn't fit your whole body through unless you were flat on your belly, arms straight in front of you. Fantastic. Probably fairly stupid, but one of the most exhilerating things I've done.

And now I'm scared of skiing. I've been on five different ski trips, sometimes skiing multiple days during those trips, and still the thought of strapping two boards on my feet and heading down a mountain makes me nauseous. Seriously, I'm feeling a little queasy even as I type this. Maybe it's because I'm older and my sense of mortality has kicked in (a friend told me that your brain doesn't develop that far until you are in your twenties), or because I have children and don't want to fly head first into a chairlift pylon and leave them with a vegetable for a mother, or because I'm just a weanie now. Despite my trepidation, I will continue to go on these trips. One, because I love my husband. Two, because I do enjoy myself after I make it down the mountain a few times. Three, because I am determined to get better and stop being a weanie. For example, I want to learn to stop screaming "Aughh!! Aughh!! Watch out!! Watch out!!" whenever I am careening out of control down a tough stretch. Better yet, I want to learn to stop careening out of control. In the mean time, here are some pictures to remind me that being in the snow is indeed wonderful.

Scores of Posts

In my head I've written at least twenty posts during the past few months. Unfortunately, I'm often holding a paint brush, giving a bath, making dinner, driving to the grocery. Tough to get down my thoughts in those moments. I'm thinking of hiring a secretary to follow me around all day and jot down my words. Or maybe I could just put the secretary to work, freeing my hands for typing. Hmm. Anyways, I "wrote" posts on skiing, Charlotte's birthday, politics, Valentine's day, sushi, racism, Charlotte's latest doctor adventures, Owen's sweet words, and unending home improvements, just to name a few. So now I'm trying to decide if I should actually write any of these thoughts down, or just leave them floating around my brain. Right now, all I know is that I can barely keep my eyes open. Goodnight.