Good News - Bad News

We've got some good news and some bad news, and since everyone likes good news, let's start with that first. The good news is that we've made it to Bend, Oregon to enjoy this winter season skiing on the slopes of Mt. Bachelor. We had so much fun in Bend last winter that we couldn't imagine not coming back to do it again. The better news is that in the last week Mt. Bachelor has received over 6 feet of snow and there is even more snow in the upcoming forecast. Tons of snow on a great ski hill = good news.

If you are not a ski bum like me, 6 feet of snow may just seem like a lot of snow and nothing more. If you are a skier or a snowboarder, this could be the best news you've ever heard. Judging by the line of people waiting for a chair lift ride on Monday, it was amazing news for not only me, but about 12,000 of my closest friends. Thanks to those 12,000 people in line with me, a normally non existent line on a Monday became a wait of 30-40 minutes to get to the chair lift for a ride to the top of the mountain to shred some powder. The bad news is that powder waits for no man. By the time I got through the line again and made my second run of the day, all of my 12,000 friends destroyed what was left of the pristine untouched powder. Don't you 12,000 people have to work on a Monday? What's the deal? My guess is that there were a whole lot of people who called in sick with what could have been an epidemic of a 24 hour bug. Crowds on a Monday powder day = bad news.

More good news on Tuesday though. I'm still a ski bum and don't have to go to work and all those sick people who destroyed the untouched powder on Monday weren't sick anymore. What that means is lift lines were exactly what you would expect for a midweek...non-existent. The next best thing to a powder day is a crystal clear sunshiny bluebird day after a big snowstorm. And even better news was that I got to ski with our good friend Gigi and my new friend Amanda for a few hours. You may remember Gigi from our time in Bend last year. She was an invaluable member of “Team Powderpuff” and if votes were taken, she would have most likely been voted MVP of the Team. Not only was she our tour guide on the mountain, she was a pretty good cheerleader and event coordinator. Between her and Brenda, no days last winter were left unfilled with fun. Bluebird day with no lift lines and skiing with friends = good news.

Wednesday leaves me with bad news. Although I think I'm pretty tough, I feel like I'm in halfway decent shape, and I still feel like I'm in my prime, it turns out that I'm not. I'm actually getting old. After a couple days of tearing up the mountain with skis strapped to my feet, my old legs and knees are pretty sore. Wednesday is a rest day, not because the mountain isn't still calling my name, but because these old legs and knees need a break. Realizing that you aren't still in your 20's and invincible = bad news.

It might seem that being in Bend for the winter and skiing nearly everyday is all the good news that I would have to share with you. Well, that's not the case. I'm going to try to not be sappy, cheesy, or over the top here, but no promises. The best news I have is the fact that I have Brenda. There is nothing better than a good companion, best friend, and partner in life. I actually get emails and comments from people now and then who read this blog telling me that Brenda and I can't realistically get along as well as we do, especially because we spend every waking minute together in either a tiny home on wheels or in cramped sailboat. Well you naysayers, I've got news for you. We do actually get along really well and there is no one we would rather be having these adventures with. We don't fight, we don't argue, and we don't nit-pick each other. We do get annoyed now and then and we do sometimes want to punch the other one in the throat to get them to shut up, but really, those moments are very rare. Having the perfect companion = good news.

Having the perfect companion is really good news but my perfect companion is currently in Seattle which brings me to more bad news. As you probably know by now, we've had some family medical stuff going on for quite a while now. We had a green light to head to Bend, but the day we arrived in Bend, we got a phone call that changed the green light to a red light. Well, maybe a yellow light. Brenda needed to get back to Seattle to be with her family member in the hospital again. So after a nice long drive hauling the RV down to Bend, she got to turn right around and head straight back to Seattle to hang out in the hospital. For the last week and a half, I've been roaming around Bend, skiing, catching up with some friends, and having fun while Brenda has been spending her days hanging out in the hospital with her family member. The really bad news is that this separation looks like it is going to be going on for a while. In our roughly 15 years of being together, we've never been apart for more than a couple of days. I take that back. A handful of years ago, she went to Italy with her girly friends for a couple of weeks without me because I couldn't take the time off of work (it's still a sore subject with me). But beyond that, we have never been apart. I don't like it. Having your BFF, wife, companion, partner in crime, etc., a long way away = bad news.

There are some good news things that get to happen now that Brenda is gone for a while though. First off, I can sprawl out and take up the whole bed. I can eat whatever I want. No bird food for me while she is gone...bacon for breakfast, lunch, and dinner...yes please. I can listen to whatever music I want and as loud as I want (she thinks I have terrible taste in music and because I'm half deaf, I listen way too loud...what's that you said?). If I decide to watch a movie, I don't have to worry that the movie is going to be a chick-flick. And the most important thing, I can actually show up to things on time, which as a skier means first chair on a powder day (Brenda is habitually late and I am habitually early, which I think means being on time. She tells me all the time that it's not OK to show up to a dinner party early...I don't get it).

All those good news things come with a flip side. The bad news is that even though I can take up the whole bed, I've been trained over the last 15 years to sleep on my side of the bed and that's where I seem to stay. And more than that, there is no fun stuff happening in that bed without my wife around. Even though I could eat bacon for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, our RV is so packed with bird food that I can't seem to find the room for a big package of bacon (or maybe I've been trained not to eat it anymore???). I can listen to whatever music I want, but RV walls are paper thin and my neighbors don't seem to appreciate 80's butt rock blasting through the RV park (sorry old timer next door! And yes, I am listening to 80's heavy metal just because I can...it's not as good as I remember it being as a kid...but I'm still listening to it just because I can). Even though I don't have to watch chick-flicks until Brenda is back, I did watch a movie the other night that was on the verge of being chick-flick-esque, and yes it was even somewhat romantic. And now that I can be on time for first chair on a powder day, there were 12,000 people that had the same idea as me. So even though I was right on time, I was still way back at the end of the line. Bummer. But the worst thing of all is just that things aren't as fun without Brenda around. So until she is back, I am going to try to undo 15 years of training and sprawl out in the middle of the bed while eating bacon (on her side of course).

Not a bad view, eh?  A winter wonderland for sure.

That's called a powder day game face.