The flip side of being prepared

I took actions today that I had prepared myself for, at least as much as one can prepare oneself for something so gut-wrenching. And when I took those steps I had practiced until they were rote, I did so with a calm that comes from such preparation. Still, as I sit here on the other side, perhaps the numbness is the most disconcerting of all. It seems like it should feel differently, like I should be doing something. It's odd, like someone grabbed ahold of reality and bent it slightly. I am conflicted. Perhaps practice isn't everything.

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Sticky snow

My friend and I were bemoaning the difficulties of life earlier today, commenting that 2011 has already shaped up to be one that tops the previous year in the "suck" department. Though the scenarios are different, the common theme seems to be that the waves just keep crashing down upon our heads, often just as we feel we have regained a toehold in the sand. She pointed out, rightly, that both she and I have experienced some great victories in the last few months as well. Yet it still seems difficult to find something approaching "smooth."

Here's where I start mixing metaphors, folks. Brace yourself. We're going from sand to snow.

In the springtime on the ski trails, sometimes the snow gets so wet that it becomes like glue to the bottoms of my skis. Even an application of Maxi-glide doesn't correct it. And the miles of trails become this disjointed experience: I glide smoothly, quietly for a few strides, calm with the hush of the forest around me. Then the snow grabs my skis, trips me, turning my glide into this stuttered struggle to remove the impediment to forward motion.

That seems to be both my experience and hers as of late. I think we both would appreciate it if things would cool off enough to bring back the glide. Miles of sticky snow is no way to ski.




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