No matter how amazing the season is, it’s always so nice to get home and back into your own bed. I was definitely getting a little homesick towards the end of the race season so finally returning to Minnesota after being gone since Christmas was a really good feeling!
But wait, it gets better. The day after I got home, I went over to my friend (and high school coach), Kris Hansen and Peter Bohacek’s house to catch up and visit, and got a suprise party! I totally didn’t see it coming and almost fell down the stairs when everybody jumped out. A lot of my teammates from high school were there along with volunteer coaches and friends from all over Stillwater. It was so nice to see everyone after being gone for so long, and it was such an amazing welcome home! Special thanks to Kris and Peter for organizing and to their kids for all the posters and decorations.
Suprise party! (photo from Peter Bohacek)
It’s been nice to have a week to relax and not be racing and traveling nonstop, but I’m finding out that I’m much better at moving around than I am at sitting still. It feels profoundly wrong to not be racing this weekend and staying in the same bed for more than 10 days in a row. So I’ve taken to sleeping downstairs for a couple nights. Weird, but true.
Adjusting is hard, it turns out! I’ve spent the year wrapping my identity around who I am as an athlete, so now in the off season I’m finding myself with less to hold on to and a lot more time on my hands. Which is good – I need to get into a broader range of stuff and figure out exactly WHAT ELSE I like to do besides ski. I also spend the last three months living 24/7 with my “ski family” and suddenly I haven’t seen them in weeks! It’s quite the shift, and I imagine it’s similar to what most people my age go through when they come home from college in the summer. At the same time, a break was badly needed and it’ll be really good to reset before I get back to training in May.
Also…can I brag for a second? I get to see just how talented and artsy my little sister Mackenzie is, finally, now that I’m home! She’s been working really hard at her school play, “Starmites”, which comes out on the 26-28 of April, and I’m psyched that I’m going to be around to see it. As well as listen to her voice recital! It’s cool to watch (and listen) to her working her butt off and I’m super proud of all she’s doing.
