Fearless

Why is it that fear holds us back from accomplishing personal goals?  I believe that the questions of “What if” begin to creep into our minds and before we know it we have 10 reasons why we will not be able to achieve our goals.  For me, one of those “what if” moments happened this past weekend while skiing the Heavenly High Roller Terrain Park.  I had been looking at a 15ft. barrel jump for a few days now and while my sons did not hesitate going up and over, every time I approached the jump my mind created fear of what might happen if I missed the jump.  Soon it became apparent that I was afraid to try something difficult for fear of getting hurt. 

Fear seeps into our minds and gives us doubts and reservations.  It comes in many different forms.   Financial fear, holds many people back, but I believe the worst that can happen is you end up completely broke and alone in some unfamiliar place.  Could we handle that?  I say yes.  Most people have probably experienced this at some point in their life, maybe not to the extent of being completely down and out but still poor and scared.

Moving past the grip of fear and trusting in a God given believe that what I am doing will be just fine and will work out one way or another.  It may not be as I anticipated or hoped for, but what I am doing will continue to change and morph into the next step or adventure and I will be just fine.  Trusting in myself, that I am special, that my life is important, that what I think and do is important and that no matter what I am loved.  I am free at last!!

I begin my descent towards the barrel jump picking up speed.  I visualize my approach, prepare my stance, and hit my mark, transition into the jump. I roll up onto the barrel, feeling my momentum shifting and then tumble into the snow happily, exhaling with joy.  Not quite how I envisioned the landing, but happy I took the chance.  This is what life is about, never letting fear stop us from trying something new. 

 

New Year Adventures

This New Year finds me in a more stationary destination rather than my usual warm weather playground of Florida. I have enjoyed wintering in Florida these past few years but have always wanted to expose my kids to winter weather and teach them about the sport of skiing and snowboarding. So instead of that usual jaunt down I-95 and into Orlando we decided to venture out west to the ski slopes. It was not our intentions to land in the Sierra Nevada Mountains but here we are in beautiful S. Lake Tahoe, California.

Our journey west started just before Super storm Sandy in September. We were in Pa visiting friends and family and discussed what our winter options would be. Having just returned from six weeks in Ireland and France and having spent so much time in Florida these past few years, we decided to wing it and just head west. Packing up the rig and leaving Sunday night right before Sandy made landfall we high-tailed it to West Virginia, because of course we needed the sticker for the back of the RV. That night ended having driven 350 miles west of Sandy and thought we were in the clear. Keep moving is my motto. We arrive the next night in western Ohio over 600 miles from where Sandy made landfall in NJ. Let me tell you, that was one amazing storm because we stayed the night in a rest stop RV parking space, which I love by the way, ($10.00 for electric and no need to get off the interstate) and the winds shook the trailer and everyone inside plus it was like 20 degrees outside. We survived and continued on our way.

Along the way our stops included Amana, Iowa and Des Moines for Halloween. Slow travel made the trip more enjoyable, less rushed and allowed time for a Millstream Brewery tour in Amana. We made Nebraska another sticker and ended up dropping into Colorado for a quick trip to Rocky Mountain National Park. We stayed the night then blasted out of there and ended stopping in Salt Lake City, Utah to visit our friends the Evans family. Thanks so much for the hospitality guys. So great to see the Loud family and have our boys spend time with their road friends. We briefly discussed Park City for the winter and even looked at an apartment in SLT but decided that our vision was further west. Hitting the road we made W. Wendover, Nevada and the 40 ft. cowboy sign to fill up. Driving west over Battle Mountain and onto Winnemucca for a quick Wal-Mart stopover and to watch the inauguration of Obama for a second term on TV. Hey don’t blame me I didn’t vote for Barry. Anybody who changes their name for foreign aid to college just doesn’t get my vote.

The next morning dawns bright and we have Reno insight with just over a few hours’ drive to Tahoe. With the GPS locating the “In and Out Burger” I drop the hammer and make time. Ahhh Reno, no time to play we don’t want to drive the Mountain Pass from the desert floor of 5800 feet. up to 6250 feet. at lake level at night. We make the grade and pull into our campsite for the week. Wow a couple weeks to get across the country and $1200 lighter from the gas we are ready to tackle South Lake Tahoe. The campground provides the needed basics and before we know it the weather turns, it dumps 7 inches of fresh powder and its freezing cold and it’s only November 5th. Man we need to rethink this living in a trailer for the winter if this is how it’s going to be. We begin the search for accommodations and spend 10 days determining that rental properties are dogs unless you want to drop 2-3k per month and that just isn’t happening. We finally decide on a single family cabin with 2 bedrooms and a loft. The price is right and we transfer all our worldly possessions from the trailer into the cabin. WOW didn’t know we could furnish a house with what we had in the RV. Rita has made the cabin home with some great touches and we are settling down into a semi-permanent vacation because we only will stay for 6 months.

The best part is we have season passes to Heavenly resort and we are able to teach Dylan and Christian about skiing and snowboarding. The cabin is on the bus route so out the door we go and within 5 minutes we are strapped in and ready to ski and board. The conditions have been awesome with tons of fresh powder and warm weather.

It is not exactly the scenario we discussed back in September, but it is working. Living close to the mountain is great but we are not used to staying in one place for such an extended time. Normally if we don’t find activities for the kids or easy access to shopping or social outlets that all the family can enjoy we move on to other climates that suit our clothes. Sitting by the fireplace, watching cable TV, having a dishwasher, stocking a full size refrigerator and all that goes with a house takes so much work. Oh yeah don’t forget about the rent check, utilities, and storage. I miss and like the freedom of our mobile lifestyle.

I summarize with this, “Life on the road requires a degree of flexibility and determination. Happiness comes from being closely intertwined with each family member on a daily basis and enjoying most every moment together. The freedom to determine how we as a family will spend the day together without outside interference creates unintentional and spontaneous joy. Don’t get me wrong living in a house offers other joys unfortunately just not the ones I have become accustomed to while living these past 5 years on the road.”