Ski For Light in Utah

Ski For Light is perhaps one of my most treasured weeks throughout my entire year. It is tough to put into words why and how this week means so much to me.

A little background for those who may be unaware (www.sfl.org). It is a week long event (250 people) that changes locations annually. We cross country ski during the day and drink a lot of alcohol, dance to a lot of good music and have fun evening activities. Nearly half of the participants are blind so everyone essentially has a skiing partner. This was my sixth year in attendance and I am also on the board and event planning committee.

I had a rough SFL in 2009 due to a personal issue with a very close friend and event planning tension with fellow organizers. This year those issues did not exist and I felt so engrossed in the moment throughout the entire week - it was a magical year. I will go into several reasons why the week was so special to me.

Lucy - I invited my dear friend Lucy from Michigan to participate this year at SFL and she jumped on board with both feet. She fit in instantly as I knew she would and even met the love of her life. I hope those two stay together for a very long time, this will be the first time I am involved with match making! Spending so much time with Lucy filled my heart because since I moved to Houston last August my heart has desperately missed spending quality time with my friends I deeply connect with and cherish. Lucy was a perfect run around and almost cause trouble partner.

Stress free organizing - Since I was caring for mom over the previous months I had to pull myself out of many aspects of the event planning committee which freed up my time at SFL and I was able to just enjoy the week.

Dancing - There is something so incredibly euphoric that happens in my body when I get to dance. It is my creative outlet, stress reliever and so many other repressed emotions fly out of my body when I just let the music move me! I love the SFL dances because everyone dances with everyone. For some of the blind participants this might be their only chance all year to dance and boy do we make the best of it!

Friends - It was my first year at ski for light where I felt like I had a solid group of friends. Many of the folks in attendance I had the opportunity to visit throughout the year while traveling. It feels like family - I felt like my friendships solidified into something more than just a one week ski week each year. My heart felt filled up with love!

Maureen - I was so excited this year to ski with the Mobility Impaired Program. I was originally paired with Jeff for the week (he is a sit-skier - paraplegic). At the beginning of the week I was approached by a guide and good friend, Karen, who was having difficulties with her skier Maureen (who is blind and deaf). After sharing my past guiding experience with her and several other folks we realized the best solution would be for me to switch skiers with Karen. The SFL board is nervous to have Maureen ski at the event at all because she is the only deaf and blind skier at SFL. They fear that she is a high risk skier because she is guided differently than the rest of the pack. In fact, it has typically been the policy that Maureen must bring her own guide. In some ways I have tried to fight hard and stand up for Maureen because I think it would go against our mission to turn down a skier because they are deaf and blind. Since I have guided Maureen in the past I know without a doubt that I can guide her in a safe (atypical, but safe none the less) manner. I put my neck on the line again by switching skiers and had every organizer looking closely at Maureen's and I skiing. As I predicted Maureen and I had a WONDERFUL week! Of course we could not have done this without our third party member Carol who helped keep me organized and focused on my responsibilities (I get a little ADD during the week because there is a constant chance to socialize with 200 plus interesting people). I almost cried at the end of the week when Maureen said, "this was my best 5k rally I have ever had!" It was magical.

Serendipity and living in the moment - I took a different angle this week and did not plan anything. I let the magic and the natural flow of SFL take over and everything worked out so perfectly and beautifully. A good reminder of how I want to live everyday.

Staying off site - I chose not to stay at the hotel to save $700 and boy did it challenge my ability to use resources and logistic skills! I took a shower and stayed in a different bed nearly every night. I hauled my bags around in true gypsy form. While it proved to be a challenge and slightly stressful, it added a different variety to my experience. I am hoping next year to scrounge up enough money to avoid the added stress it caused me. I did have a wonderful couchsurfing host, Austin, (he lives in Provo) who let Lucy and I come and go freely and he really was crucial in making our week a success by not staying in the hotel.