A lot of things came together this past weekend. My virus or illness or whatever finally started to abate. Joe, Ky, and I all took Friday off. My parents generously let us use their cabin and then they generously offered to take Hazel to Seattle for the weekend. It was deliciously 75 degrees and sunny.
It was, in a word, PERFECT.
You know that I love to climb, but what I really love about climbing is the whole atmosphere. I truly love being in the warm desert, surrounded by sagebrush and rocks and dirt. I relish the moments between rock climbs, laying on warm rocks in the sun, just as much as I love to climb a hard route. It seems to me that everything comes together in such moments and all those worries from the rainy side of life are completely miniscule.
I miss the atmosphere. In my pre-mom life, we climbed a lot. Many times in the fall and spring, it was not unusual for us to spend every weekend camped out, covered in dirt, playing on rocks. But of all the sports I do, climbing is the most difficult with a kid. So we don't do it nearly as much.
This weekend, though, we got to play like it was 2007. And it was beyond rad. Our weekend looked like this:
Friday: Climb
Saturday: Climb, Ride, Winery tasting, Shoot guns
Sunday: Climb
I did not want Monday to come. I fact, I begged and pleaded with Monday to take its time getting here. Monday didn't listen. Monday reminded me that I have to pay to play. Stupid Monday.
Ky shot a gun for the first time this weekend and promptly declared, "This is FUN! When can we do this AGAIN?!?"
Afterwards, she went all fashionista rock style.
I belayed Joe on his first lead climb ever, after which he completed lead climb after lead climb after lead climb, ad nauseum...
Barkernews and I remembered what it was like to climb without a kid- EASY.
And we all took in the view, which stretches for miles and miles and miles.
I love it there. My body may be here in gray, rainy Portland, but my heart is on the east side, working my way up a tough climb and hanging out in the desert sun.
