Neverland | The Back Road

On Friday I had my first official “Snow Day”. I got a call from Weber at about 6:00am, right as I was waking up but still in bed, alerting me that Weber State University had called a “Code Purple” and that school would be cancelled for the day. I couldn’t resist jumping out of my bed and looking out the window expecting a beautiful winter wonderland. I forgot that it was, in fact, 6am and still dark. My giddiness was quickly stifled by reality and I got back in bed. I may not have lived out my own classic hollywood morning-of-a-snow-day scene, but I was sure happy for a few more hours of sleep.

When I woke up later I could finally see the night’s build-up. There was more snow on the ground than I could ever remember seeing, and it was still coming down! My day was spent shoveling and digging cars out with my mom, and that night Kevin and I got together with some of our high school friends and went sledding! It was so fun to get to feel like a little kid again. We spent a few hours sledding, building jumps, burying each other, and feeling like we were five again…. and it was fabulous. I envy little kids ability to thoroughly and completely enjoy themselves, totally living in the moment. It was refreshing to get to feel that again. Peter Pan had the right idea heading out to Neverland. If only I knew how to find the second star to the right. I would go straight on ’til morning.

Speaking of Peter Pan….

Jeremy Sumpter as Peter Pan. You would not believe the size of the crush I once had on the boy. But just look at him, can you blame me?

Jeremy Sumpter as Peter Pan. You would not believe the size of the crush I once had on the boy. But just look at him, can you really blame me?

Wendy. Contrary to popular belief and her denial, this is clearly Jane Busk. I’m sure of it.

Anyhow…. Saturday was filled with snow again, but when the skies cleared around noon I decided to take my cross country skis out on a little tour of a trail I sometimes run on near my house. To my surprise, I found the section of trail I began on to already be broken by other skiers. I got to play on the broken track as well as break some of my own trail, my first time off a groomed path. I had the time of my life just skiing on my own braving new trails and enjoying the blue skies. My love of cross country skiing must have something to do with the scandinavian blood that flows through my veins. Blond hair and blue eyes apparently aren’t the only things passed down to me from my ancestors. I can’t wait to go back and ski on my trail again, I feel like there’s a custom Darcy-sized double-track now waiting for me to ski again!

After my day of skiing I got to spend my night with Kevin. I got to watch Go-Pro videos Kevin and his dad had from their snowmobiling adventures that morning. The video didn’t do the mountains justice, but still the depth of the snow and the beauty of the terrain was amazing. Kevin talks about snowmobiling the same way he talks about skiing, with passion and excitement. It was fun to see his dad express that same love for the sport as Kev, and it made watching the videos all the more fun.

Overall, I think the biggest lesson I took away from this weekend was re-learning the beauty and importance of having fun. Enjoying life. Being where you are and loving it.