REKLESS, PRAXIS & DRIED BLOOD

Ketchum, ID – I caught (read killed) three mice yesterday behind the washing machine. They were so cute, until they ran across my bare foot while washing dishes. Then they were scary. They were scary, until they crept into my room at night. Then they were dead.

Some mice have also been chomping on my strawberries and peas, outside. I asked a neighbor if he had any tricks besides getting a cat – he said dried blood. I said yuck, but went to the garden store and sure enough, they sell it. I guess my garden is no longer vegetarian but then again, neither am I.

These are the kinds of things that I have found myself doing to avoid working out. I have been an athlete for so long, it is all that I know. Ski racing and training have been so much more than a job – it is my social life, my appetite and my sleeping pill. As I continue to take time off, in the hopes of kicking my immune system back into shape, I find myself lost and unsatisfied. What does one do when they don’t have to run for 3 hours in the morning and go to the gym for 2 hours in the afternoon?

I have been studying for the Praxis exams (I am also getting my Netflix money’s worth). I went to school to become an elementary educator (read 4th grade teacher) but I never put down the coin to attain the actual teaching license. 6 years later, I am freshening up on my Piaget and Vygotsky to turn my Vermont recommended license into an Idaho, for real one. Come August I am hoping to be training again and by September, maybe even teaching (and I don’t mean the volunteer kind, although I do love Brad and the kids).

Am I going to be a ski racer next year? Yes. I will always be a skier and even a racer. I am not going to do the circuit however. I am going to try to make some money for a change, get healthy, train on my own and focus more on community races, maybe a marathon or two, three or four also. Yes, I am going to be a master this fall. There, I said it.

I have some ideas and opportunities coming down the pipe too, so stay tuned. My mind changes, about what I want to be when I grow up, daily. For now, I am re-learning Bloom’s Taxonomy and hoping the mice leave me at least ONE strawberry this summer!

Oh, and I am going to a Reckless Kelly concert on Saturday (favorite song) and found some morel mushrooms. Have a great 4th everyone!