sailing!

It's been a long cold winter, and to be honest, I have enjoyed it. However, it was great to get away and go sailing this weekend. I ended the season back in November at an Ultimate 20 regatta at Lake Norman, North Carolina, and it's fitting that I started the new season at the same club! I am thankful for friends who also sail, and invite me to come along to regattas and race with them. We drove down to NC (thankful for the uneventful smooth drive). Went out to dinner and laid low. Over the weekend I was thankful for sunshine! The temps weren't too bad (better than Cleveland), and we got some great racing in! Another huge plus to the weekend, was the generous club member who offered us to stay at his lake house, which was literally 2 houses away from the club. So easy to go back and forth!
We won the event, and had a really nice weekend away before driving back into the snow in West Virginia. At least the snow was clear in Ohio. Sunday Night, I was happy to have the experience. I think sometimes it's easy to forget about how much you enjoy something when you haven't gotten to do it in 4 months!

Tonight, I am happy that my report card grades are done, and we have 4 days left till spring break! The End of the year is approaching WAY too quickly!!

Thank you mom.

Today I am missing my mom. A lot. But I can't dwell on how much I miss her. So instead I'll do a brief post about one of the many things I loved about her. Really I could write for days on all the amazing things my mom meant to me. And I am sure over the remaining 352 (approximately) posts I will mention her amazingness again!

But tonight I'll talk about how thankful I am that she taught me to love the water. My mom loved the water. She loved sailing, swimming, listening to the waves, watching the lake change and so much more. And she has passed that passion on to me in every way possible. Tonight I returned from a great swim practice. And I'm preparing my year for some great swimming and sailing challenges. And although I can't call her or have her come watch my next milestone.... I know she is with me, every stroke, every wave and every race. 

The picture is from about 1985-6? Either Lake Erie or Florida on my grandfathers boat.