Yesterday I had a rather miserable day.
It was one of those days that if ONE thing would have been different, it actually would have been really great.
I had planned to take a day off and go up to the mountains for an afternoon of snowboarding after seeing there might be some sun in the forecast for Thursday.
Wednesday night my allergies started to kick up a bit but I’d blamed it on the cake with cream cheese frosting I’d had for dinner (I definitely get hay fever like reactions from over indulging in certain foods). But I kind of ignored it and went to bed.
In the morning I was still sniffling around but it wasn’t that bad in the world of allergies for me. So I loaded up the Jeep with my snowboard stuff and off I went. It was a 2 hour drive.
By the time I got there, I felt like I’d gone through a quarter of a box of Kleenex. The allergies were really starting to kick my ass. Unfortunately, I also don’t react well to allergy medication, so that’s a no go.
Nevertheless, I got my lift ticket and slogged off to one of the lifts.
I’ve never done snowboarding with my allergies going off like that and let me tell you, I don’t want to ever repeat it. After a few runs I had to go back to the Jeep and just sit for awhile, hoping that things would mellow out. My nose was running like a faucet, my eyes were watering, and I kept sneezing.
It was an absolutely beautiful day too. Some clouds, but the sun was shining the whole time. The snow was still good at that point in the day and if it weren’t for my sinuses, I would have been having a marvelous time.
As I sat there, I remembered that this particular ski area was the first Oregon one Mario and I went to. I think it was in 2008, which feels like another lifetime ago at this point.
Oddly enough, I’d had an even more miserable day that day! It was late spring, the snow was crap with patches of ice in shaded areas, I fell a few times, it was like 45 degrees, and I was not in as good of shape as I am now. I ended up overheating after only a few runs, developed a splitting headache, and ended up laying down in the back of our suv. We left early and Mario drove home.
He was always a good sport when it came to our ski/snowboard outings. Sometimes he was the one who pooped out early, sometimes it was me, but we did have a good time. That one other incident was the only time where we didn’t have fun.
I stuffed my pockets with more Kleenex and rallied to get out of the Jeep and hit some more runs.
I was NOT having fun. Between the runny (yet somehow also stuffy) nose and the watery eyes, I was basically just doing it to not feel like I’d wasted the day (and the lift ticket cost) at that point.
The one downside to this resort is if you want to do multiple different runs, you almost always have to walk to them. I ended up walking back and forth to the two I like (which are of course at opposite ends). Allergies already kind of wipe me out energy-wise, and the walking really didn’t help.
I tried my best to enjoy actually going down the runs, but even that was tough given the circumstances. I made it to 3:30 p.m. then went over to the lodge to get a bite to eat before heading home.
The lodge is laid out where you go up a flight of stairs to a big area where you order the food in the middle, then on either side are tables. By that point in the day it was pretty dead so I could have sat anywhere as it was nothing but open tables, but something was drawing me to the section on the right.
I picked up my order and started heading over when I spied a single, empty wine glass setting on a window ledge by one of the tables. This is going to sound silly, but it was the exact same kind of glass as we had and that Mario never seemed to be without. I’m sure those type of glasses are a dime a dozen, but I couldn’t help but see it as a sign.
It was also odd because all the tables had been cleaned and there was staff fussing about with other end of day cleaning tasks, and yet, there was the random wine glass just sitting there. In that area of the lodge, there’s supposed to be no alcohol consumption either (only in the bar, which is on the top floor of the lodge).
It’s those little random things that pack a punch of meaning exclusively for you that definitely makes you think. I prefer to think, especially because I was so miserable, that Mario somehow orchestrated that one, empty wine glass as a message that he was there with me in spirit.
Message received.
