Good afternoon dear readers! I'm still under the impression that it is morning since I feel like I've already accomplished so much today! It is a beautiful (yet cold) winter day, perfect for outdoor activities. I don't always take advantage of a beautiful day, but when I do, I have a funny story to tell after.
I woke up around 8:00am this morning since my mother, father and myself had planned to leave at 9:00am to go cross country skiing before most of the city would wake up. I was super excited since I hadn't been cross country skiing in a while, since we usually go downhill because there's usually enough snow and time to go. However, we've only had a good amount of snow in the past week really, so we decided to go cross country skiing instead. I put on all of my clothes, got in the car, and we went on a drive to the nearest trails. As my mother got our passes, I started to finish suiting up and snap my boots into their bindings. I am lucky enough to get my mom's old skis, my dad's old boots, and my brother's old pants and jacket since as a student, any bargain (especially when you manage to save all of your money) is a great bargain.
So with everyone ready and a piercing cold wind whipping against our faces, we decided to head into the trails before we changed our minds. Since there wasn't a lot of snow, we had to be careful on what side of the trail we stayed on so that the tracks were still formed and visible. We did the 5km run, climbing up small and medium hills, gently gliding through the trees and squinting when the sun came out through the clouds and hit the bright white snow. I was finally getting into the groove of things when a couple of regulars were catching up with us. We let the first pass us while the other was hanging back a little. One of the women at the lodge has warned us about one specific hill, (and I managed to go down that one without a problem) but it was a smaller hill with a curve in it that I (and only I) took my inevitable fall. Have you ever started something and realized that mid-way through that it wasn't so much of a good idea anymore? Well, that was me. I didn't have a choice as to which trail to take since the right side had just been levelled by the groomer, so I had to stick to the right as I came down the hill. I tried bracing myself, but I also had my mom's old poles which were just a little too short, and unfortunately a little too late as my right ski drifted out of the flattened out track and started to split. Instead of ripping my pants, I took settled on the tumble and fall approach. Little did I know that at the very moment, the person who was hanging back this whole time was conveniently right next to my mom at the top of the hill to witness what not to do.
I guess you do live and learn, and despite everything, I never quit, I didn't really get hurt, and now I'll just be praying for more snow so that the tracks are deeper and the trails a little fluffier to cushion my fall. So I guess there's a silver lining in all. Sometimes dear readers, you keep going because you have to, and other times you keep going because you want to, but it is always important that in every situation, you keep moving because everything else around won't wait for you.
K.P.H.
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