Five kilometres, straight up in the snow. Ridiculous incline. Coffee at the top and then the hard part, coming back down. Up is so easy. The reward of being at the top is so beautiful, I look forward to it. The punishment of my knees on the way down almost crushing. Coffee again at the bottom. The backs of my hands are so cold I am almost crying but the tired I feel is a physical exhaustion and it's such a beautiful change from the emotional (heavy) tiredness I am profoundly grateful.
Sam baptizes us with snow and then saltwater. He smiles warmly as he does it, grateful also for the change of scenery. It's hard to believe we went straight from this peak back to a mountain of chores, but with all hands on deck we aced that too even as it involved a major bathroom repair, a truckload run across town and some electronics rejigging to make sure all of the property cameras worked, as two had stopped. We walked the dog, celebrated Henry's school victory and now I plan to sleep like the ghosts do tonight because that was incredible.
Pajamas and brandy at seven? Lochlan smiles. He loved today too.
Hell, yes, I confirm. Who's going to turn that down?