Help, Thanks, Wow

I've shared before that Anne Lamott has named three essential prayers to get through our days: Help, Thanks and Wow. 

Those words certainly helped me frame the day yesterday. 

1) HELP 

*  I went for a run Saturday morning and lots of snow was coming down. I was sure hopeful for good weather for us all as I knew a snowy day with wind and no sun might be too much for everyone. Help!  And, 30 minutes into the run, the blue sky came out and I was smiling a mile wide. Thanks! and Wow! 

* Taylor was not too excited about skiing in the first place this weekend as it's just not one of his favorite things. (While I really enjoy it, I have to think about if I were asked to jump into a day of a sport I was not crazy about- like mountain bike riding or something I'm not very skilled in when everyone else seemed to love it.) Help! 

* As we started skiing, Anna, Taylor and Jason were on skate skis and I was on my old classics.  Anna and Jason were picking it up pretty quickly again from our first attempts last year, but Taylor was not feeling like he was finding his rhythm (even though I thought he was looking pretty good).  Comparison can be discouraraging, and it sure can be hard to stay positive after a few falls. Help! To Taylor's credit, he was trying really hard to not bring everyone down and was being a good sport. After we went for a while on a trail, BC told us about a shortcut that Jason and Taylor could take so Taylor could go down a fun hill and get to the lunch spot a bit early.  He even got some kuddos from Jodi who told him that the hill he skiied down was challenging and that he did really well tackling that. Thanks! 

2) THANKS

* After lunch, we all went down a long trail (essentially skiing from Sun Mountain Lodge to Winthrop) and it was beautiful. Jason and Taylor rode fat bikes while the rest of us skied and we all had a ball.  Thanks! It fit everyone's hopes for the afternoon and we all had a lot of fun in this winter wonderland. 

* Since we were going down, we weren't working as hard so my hands started to get cold. Anna was so sweet to keep asking me how my hands were doing. I am grateful for her sweet spirit. Thanks! Then down the trail, we caught up with Jodi who had some hand warmers that she was finished using. Thanks! 

* There is so much to give thanks for today- good friends, health, family, laughter... Thanks! 

3) WOW 

* It's just not hard to have lots of "Wow!" moments here as it's one of the most beauitful places I know.  Wow. Wow. Wow! 

Anna and Ryan's faces in the snow :)