i am now living my dream. seriously.

the plowing is tough stuff. even in the best of conditions, you have to be uber-alert, aware, and responsive. and it is rare that you plow in the best-of-conditions. at its default you have to rely on faith and confidence and skill. at its worst, you just breath, and put the entire truckload of passengers on talking-probation until you clear the next section.

the plow truck is out of the equation now. as of sometime this morning, its lays like a beached whale in the driveway. i busted both back chains attempting to clear the first driveway. more snow has fallen than is manageable. the day was certain to come.

i’m revealing in it. i wanted to do this once. i wanted a chance to live like this. i was drawn to the story of Heidi and her Grandfather when i was a kid. i loved the idea of living so simply and starkly, with love.

i recently read through some journals from my early 20’s. there is an entire section devoted to the hope that i’d someday relate to winter the way the Ernest Hemmingway did in a Moveable Feast.

and now i’m here. and the fishbowl is semi-permeable. when it is too deep for  the wee peeps to contend with, we track a track. and it becomes manageable.

the first day in session at the Moose Willow Academy was off-the-hook.

we made the to-do list, which required much discussion and finding the win-wins. we brought in the flag and said the pledge of allegiance. it was Box’s first time. we did 20 jumping jacks, 20 sit-ups, a 50-second plank, and we arm wrestled. we strapped on our skis and there was NO whining or crying (for realz…) we were bummed-relieved at the beaching of the truck.

we made Mighty Bites and lunch for math class, and read books and made sight-word flash cards. we never quite covered music, despite having music on all day…so we put on Peter and the Wolf during dinner prep. we had Treasure Chest, and it was gobbled up. we are still eating on the floor in the living room. and practicing mindful eating.

i like to do hard things. i like to crush plan B. i like to assess the resources and squeeze out all the joy and growth i can.

this can be both hard and fabulous. both challenging and rewarding.

this is the kind of experience people write books about…or screenplays…like The Shining….just kidding. for realz. for realz. just kidding.