Project Therapy

It’s been an extremely productive week, maybe too productive in some ways. After pushing hard at the end of indoors, all the travel, and a nasty virus or two, it’s always wise to take some time off too recover properly. I’m not good at resting, but I’m doing my best. A day off of training in my mind is a day to get chores done. On an awesome piece of property like this the projects and chores never end. It is especially intriguing for me as I grew up here with all this freedom to play outdoors, and then trapped myself in the small indoor and outdoor spaces that are common place in dorms, apartment complexes, and duplex style housing for the past 13 years since I left the nest. Now I’m back, and everyday that its sunny (which is almost everyday) I’m like a little kid again. When I walk out of my door I see projects and possibilities of fun. In the first few weeks I returned I made four different features for my downhill bike, installed two disc golf baskets and ten tee placements, cleaned an area for my slack line, picked out places for a high bar and rings in the trees, climbed a ton of other trees, and ultimately measured several potential locations for a vault runway and have almost completed the process of installing it. The projects themselves are a very important type of therapy and meditation for me. Creating and completing something is one of the most gratifying things in life and I cherish it.

Compared to where I have lived in the past few years, this place feels like an ultimate paradise to me. The weather is incredible, and I’m in the mountains, hard to top that. This is the first winter in more than ten years that I did not get seasonal depression in the winter, probably because it didn’t ever feel like winter to me this year. That has been a very nice, needed change. My parents land is a playground, and I feel very blessed that they were willing to take me in again as an adult and support me in a dream that others don’t believe in. It was embarrassing to admit at first, sort of a blow to the ego. I couldn’t make it work out on my own all these years. I came close, but couldn’t quite get over that hump to the next level. By removing all of those outside stressors I truly believe that I am giving myself the best chance possible to become an Olympian. When this year is over, no matter what the outcome, I will be able to look back with a smile and know in my heart that I did everything I could to pursue my Olympic dream. I don’t scare easily, and I don’t fear many things, but this dream is the most important measurement of success of my life so far, and I never want to have the ability to regret any of it. It will always stand out in memory as something I can look back on with pride, knowing I did absolutely everything in my power to achieve it.