March 1, 2012

Today wasn’t really anything out of the ordinary. I missed the shuttle to work up at the resort and had to drive instead. I hate driving up there, especially with as much snow as we’ve been getting this week, but it would later prove to be in my favor. I got to work and didn’t have a snowshoe tour scheduled, but a group of us decided to go up anyways to pack the trail since the mountain had received 24”+ of snow in the last few days. Busting drifts up at 10,800 ft was a lot of fun, but a little tiring. After that I had to shovel some snow, but was free to ski the rest of the day and look for guests on the slopes to assist. It was snowing hard, and was windy and cold, so not too surprisingly, there weren’t many people out skiing. I wrapped up my runs around 3:15 and checked in to finish up my shift, but it was so slow they let us go early, so instead of waiting until 5:15 to catch the shuttle, I had a truck to take me back. I also gave a fellow tour guide a lift back to town, and wouldn’t you know, she is a fellow real estate investor so we had some good conversation on the ½ hour drive back.

Now comes the part that makes this day not so ordinary. Today, the court hearing happened in Austin to legally finalize the divorce. Ever since I learned that the hearing would be this day, it has been on my mind. Colleen and I have said our goodbyes and come to terms with the circumstances, but still, something like this stirs up emotion and brings a much needed sense of closure. I feel like I can move forward with new relationships and other aspects of my life. This is one of the small steps I mentioned back on New Years that I knew I had to take to move forward.

Even though I was tired from play and work, I felt like I needed to do something to commemorate the day. I decided to take Rocco on a nice hike up to Hogsback peak.

The hike started with a wicked snow storm blowing in from the west. The wind and snow concerned me a bit since I knew I would be on an exposed ridge for a while, but the storm died down and the sky orchestrated with the mountains and snow to provide the most stunning vistas I’ve yet to experience here in Durango while we made the steep ascent.

I couldn’t have asked for a more mystical sunset to contemplate the good times I shared with such an awesome person.

While I’m strongly committed to looking to the future, today, I feel compelled to look to the past. I just wanted Colleen and everyone else to know I have no ill feelings, no contempt, no negative anything towards the person that used to be my wife. I choose not to remember the bad times, but rather the times like this:

And one last thing before I hit the hay for some much needed rest this evening. This might not be our song anymore, but it was at one point. I’m always going to think of Cupcake and Caveman anytime I hear it. Take care, Cupcake.