128

the highs and lows of the hopeful.

a good workout, a positive result and step up in fitness leaves us high. fatigue, waking up with a sore achilles and feeling like you are always starting over leaves us with the lows. all the while, hopeful. 128 days to western states and all of the above are present. i've taken steps to manage the lows. well, to help the sore achilles, anyway. the injured athlete is so fully dedicated to researching and doing anything and everything possible to heal as quickly as possible. funny how sometimes we choose to ignore this same dedication when the ball is rolling well.

so it goes...

i've been reading a lot of rick bass lately. i suppose it's more "catching up" on what he's written since colter. i find the pace and tenor of his writing soothing. i used to read him a lot while living through wet winters in the mountains of north carolina. it always seemed like the right time to read him while sitting close to a wood stove, sipping coffee. i've been missing those carolina mountains a good bit. i suppose once a place gets into your blood it never really leaves you. maybe reading him again is kind of like reaching out a bit and grasping a place by it's fingertips, just to hold on a little longer...