New Year and New Adventures!

I never understood why teachers loved Christmas break so much until I became one. I now get it to say the least. It is a time to catch up on laundry, enjoy lunch, and use the bathroom freely without having to find someone to cover your class. I took naps, mindlessly scrolled on my phone, and ate chips while sprawled on the sofa. In other words, it turns out I turn into my students when given time off.

Not only was I able to relax the past two weeks, but I was also able to travel a little bit. I live about an hour away from my parents (and my boyfriends live in Greece which is not convenient for popping in for the holidays), so we headed there for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We had many delicious meals and my father--against my mother's wishes--got everyone some type of projectile weapon that is not lethal but wouldn't feel great if it accidentally went rogue.

My boyfriend then surprised me with a roadtrip to Colorado. He grew up skiing and was excited to take, but knowing me well enough also decided to include many cute small towns and fun experiences. We stayed in Golden,CO at the Dove Inn which was adorable and felt like a Hallmark movie. In Golden, there are many great restaurants which made it hard to choose what to eat, especially the first night. We ended up landing on a place that served buffalo meatloaf and green chili poutine. Would highly suggest both those dishes for a cozy vibe in a snowy town.

In Georgetown, Co

Panos and I outside the Georgetown Public Library

Georgetown,Co

The next day we traveled to the quaint town of Georgetown, CO which is not to be confused with Georgetown, TX...but both are adorable. The little town is filled with storybook magic. It is nestled within a bunch of mountains so had fresh snow. I loved visiting the public library and having a delicious mocha at the little cafe. Panos loved all of the old houses. We headed back to Golden for an afternoon stroll and amazing Italian food.

The next day was the main event...skiing. I mentioned it earlier, but I want to reiterate that Panos grew up skiing and I did not. Remember that so that I seem slightly less like a monster. We arrived at Loveland Pass and got our lift tickets. We then headed into the rentals shop. In the rental shop, they had us find our boots which was fine, but then

came the helmet. I do not come from small headed people, but I would not call my head large...they loudly did. And also told me to take off my hat so that it would fit. The thing that really made me mad was they were right. We got our skis, and put our snow boots in a locker. We jammed our feet into the uncomfortable ski boots on a tiny bench and tried to sort out whose gloves and hats were whose. Panos grabbed our stuff and we headed to the base of the mountain to figure how to ski/how to teach me to ski.

Thus the peace ended for the morning.

Problem #1: The boot mix up

Panos laid down our skis and told me to step in and they would lock onto the boot. I tried and it didn't work. He showed me how with his. I tried and it didn't work. He got out of his skis and came over to clear my boots of snow. I tried and it didn't work. He tried to push on my foot and it didn't work. He kept telling me to stand on my heel, and even though I was completely balanced on just my heel, it didn't work. He thought it might not have been adjusted correctly, so I got down and he looked at my skis, I spent the time looking to see if there was something different about my boots and his, that is when I discovered the fact that we had switched boots and basically wear the same size of shoes. That didn't make me thrilled, but we switched to the proper shoes and I was able to actually get into the skis.

Problem #2: Panos tells me to walk uphill

Panos was determined to teach me so he found a slightly uphill area off to the side that he wanted me to just walk up. He kept telling me to keep penguin waddling and I just slid backwards. I was freaking out because I was not in control. So finally I put my foot down and told him that we were just going to practice on the way to the ski lift as it was downhill. He agreed and we slowly figured out how to ski the basically flat path to the lift.

Problem #3: The ski lift

My new enemy is ski lifts. At the bottom it wasn't bad. The people could tell I was freaking out so slowed it way down for me to get on. Panos immediately pulled the bar down and I was able to get situated, but then suddenly I was flying full force way to high up. I do not like heights, I am open about this. Both me and my family tell people that I do NOT liked to be touched if I am up high. My sweet, loving boyfriend could see that I was freaking and in a comforting gesture, tried rubbing my arm and reassuring me. What did I do? Not calm down, that is for sure. I told him don't touch and proceeded to freak every time it had to go over the things that hold it up. Now I can't prove it, but I swear that they sped the ski lift up as we were getting ready to get off even though Panos was yelling to slow it down for me. The good news was I made it without falling. The bad news was I now had to ski.

Me attempting to smile while skiing

Problem #4: Skiing down not a beginners hill.

You know how most of the time, you start on the green bunny hills that are barely any distance and only have a little bit of a slope? This wasn't that. This was an immediate, serious downhill that switched backed on itself. I genuinely thought I was going to die. It is then the longest downhill maybe ever. I was up on the mountain for 2 hours trying to get down.

Problem #5: Panos tries to teach me to ski

Panos is a really good skier. He has been doing it for a long time. He didn't understand that everything hurt and was scary. I was completely out of control and he didn't know how else to explain besides telling me "little pizza, big pizza" to try to get me moving. He told me to go across the mountain and then turn. The first few times of falling, I considered just letting the snow take me, but he would climb back up the mountain and tell me that he could carry me down or we could walk down. That would have been even worse than what I was doing, so I kept trying, slowly and painfully to ski. Eventually we came to the mutual decision that he should give me some space to figure it out (by mutual I told him to). He went ahead and I would try to ski towards him. I was very focused on big pizza and little pizza, that I stopped looking up. When I finally did, he was 50 yards ahead of me skiing backwards. Though I am not proud of it, I did have the distinct thought of it I could catch him right now I would end him. Luckily, he was safe for my snail's pace skiing.

Problem #6: A bad knee is a bad knee

Back from my running days, I have a bad knee. Apparently the same way it hurts when I do other workouts, hurts with skiing.

Eventually though I did make it down off the mountain and into the lodge for a hotdog, the best of the skiing foods. Panos went for a few more runs doing different slopes significantly quicker than when he was stuck with me. I bought things on amazon to make me feel better and that would help with New Year Resolutions (more on that soon).

We went to a park nearby and had a snowball fight so that I could hit Panos with a snowball and feel better, then went back to Georgetown for dinner at 511 Rose. It was possibly the best meal of the trip because we were exhausted, it was cozy, and the owner was delightful.

The last day of the trip was filled with walking around Golden and the surrounding mountain trails. It was such a fun surprise roadtrip!

Now I am getting ready to go back for the second semester of teaching, but I feel rested and ready. I have done it once which makes the next few days less scary. It's not my first, first day. I know where things are. I am creating healthier plans and boundaries to not get so worn out. I am figuring out how to be an adult. Here's to a great 2025!

Love you big!

Adelaide