52 To Do

This week was a pretty challenging one for me. Winter activities have always intimidated me for various reasons, so I just always avoided them. I was expecting to try a bunch of different things this week and find one or two that I might enjoy doing so I wouldn’t just hole up all winter in the house here in Colorado. At the end of it I kind of enjoyed it all because I just went out with an open mind and decided I would just laugh at myself a bit being out of my comfort zone.

Ice fishing was an interesting one because it was definitely the most fun I had this week, but it’s probably something I won’t be running back out to do again.

It was just a fun, random thing to do with new friends that had me almost peeing my pants laughing so hard at our attempt. It’s hard to say whether you could really call what we were doing ice fishing, but it was a valiant effort.

I expected cross country skiing to be the thing I would fall in love with and it would be my thing for the winter. It was a good way to ease into skiing and I think once I get the rhythm of it down I’ll really enjoy it. We’re heading up to Winter Park today to check out the trails there.  Cross country skiing was the thing I was most conscious of as “exercise”.  I imagine once I get going and get out on longer trails it won’t feel that way but all of the other activities I did felt both fun and enjoyable to be outside.  cross country skiing was a bit more work.

The biggest surprise of the week was how much I loved downhill skiing since I’d been too terrified to try it again for the last 15 years.  I learned a bit about myself for sure. I’ve never liked the frustration of not being good at something and this taught me to just laugh a bit and take it slow. With the lesson it felt like a safe environment and I was surprised that after 1 day, I could ski! I’m learning how to be a more patient person and to not take myself so seriously. Falling down really doesn’t hurt that badly.

In terms of embracing winter, snowshoeing made me realize what a beautiful place it is that I live in.  I was able to go to places I wouldn’t be able to get to this time of year to see how different the landscape looks. It was one of those moments I really started falling in love with Colorado. If you pay attention it is really striking how much the scenery changes throughout the year and the range of colors you can see in it.

Plus, it was fun sliding down hills on my butt like a kid again. I think I even unknowingly said “Weeeeeeeeee!” on the way down.

Aside from the activities, it was interesting to learn more about snow and think a little differently about it. My favorite was the story of “Snowflake” Bentley. Snowflakes are arguably the most interesting designs in the world and I find it fascinating that a farmer in the late 1800s understood that and devised a way to record those designs so they weren’t forever lost.

I now have an arsenal of fun things to do in the winter here in Boulder. Now we just need a little snow so I can sneak up on my husband and have a good snowball fight.