Hello all,
I recently received this email from an awesome friend and writer Kirsten from VA. Kirsten and I met in Montana in 1992 when Tim and I moved to Bozeman upon his acceptance of a position at ILX Lightwave in Bozeman. I was surprised to discover that a high school classmate, Rhett (Kirsten's husband) also lived in Bozeman and that he and Kirsten had 4-year-old twins, Aaron and Jonathan. They have been wonderful friends to us since then and we miss them much since they now live in VA and us in Maine. Kirsten works as a counelor specializing in eating disorders and Rhett is a Physics professor where he recently received the "awesome professor" award at a local university! Thanks to the Internet, we've been able to stay in touch and Kirsten recently sent us this email about their recent return to Bozeman. I think she does a great job of capturing the essence of being in Montana, so I wanted to share it in our blog. Thanks Kirsten! cy
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Hi.
I want to tell you all about the awesome trip we had to MT. Here's the summary:
After an 18 hour trip from Roanoke to Bozeman on Saturday, Dec. 30, we finally arrived. The next day we drove to Fairmont Hot Springs which is near the scenic town of Butte, MT (famous for having the largest open pool of arsenic from gold mining and having about 3 restaurants that *aren't bar/casinos). Fairmont is a large hotel that squats over a large indoor pool and a chilly walkway to a heated outdoor pool. Outside there's also a superheated pool (wonderous) and a 5 story water slide. Our first night we were quite entertained that my hair literally *froze* and turned to ice while my body was nice and warm in the pool. We played, swam, went down the slide, and ate mass quantities for two days.
Then we left Fairmont on Tuesday and came back to Bozeman. We visited old haunts-our neighborhood, house, the kid's school, the University, the Physics dept, the kid's preschool (which had totally "shrunk" according to the kids). Being there brought back a lot of memories of things the kids had forgotten which was fun to see. The owner of our house probably thought we were robbers or terrorists after pulling sideways into their driveway, staring, taking video and still pictures. The neighborhood looks much the same. The mailboxes that assaulted my car have been shored up. We were able to see an old friend of mine, Gini, and briefly catch up and we went by our church. It was funny to hear the kids over and over say how "huge" something was and how much smaller it was now. We ate at the best pizza place in the universe (MacKenzie River pizza) where they have the "Branding Iron" pizza which makes your mouth burn in a so delicious way. The kids had their doubts about the pizza but they all dissolved as they ate the weird combinations (like barbecued chicken).
There are things I'd forgotten about MT. When you're not in the mountains, the roads are freakishly straight. It seems like you can see forever. It's hard to estimate distances-whether you have one minute or 20 to go. There is a certain amount of physical discomfort that you have to suck up every day. Toilet seats are cold. Buildings are rarely kept as warm as they are in VA. Even though it was only in the 20's to 40's (warm) just the cold walking from place to place is bracing and it takes *hours* for the car to heat up. If you forget to rub lotion everywhere your skin HURTS. Mine woke me up one night. I remember that I learned to dress appropriately (and we were mostly prepared) but that I had learned to block out the discomfort while we lived there most of the time. I love the frontier decor-rough hewn wood, dead animals on many walls, antlers, many decorations and pictures around the MT animal theme or snow. I'd love to live in a house with that decor (minus the dead animal carcasses). The people are thinner, in better shape, and hairier. Dress is far more casual. Restaurants dress codes can vary from "casual to elegant" which cracks me up. I saw no one dressed elegantly in those restaurants. Most people looked like they just woke up or walked off the ski hill/ranch. They were universally (OK, except for the car rental dude) friendly, cheerful and helpful. Very different from anywhere else I've lived or visited.
It's always interesting to watch Aaron and Jonathan and how they interact. You can clearly see that special relationship they have as twins. They do things I know they're not aware of. They have a lot more frequent body contact than normal siblings. When they were in the water they played games bumping and wrestling. On the ski slope they would lean on each other or bump each other. It's hard to explain because it looks so natural. It's as if that normal boundary of where one ends and the other starts isn't nearly as thick as it is with nonmultiples. They had an exceptionally thin membrane between them when they were in utero (which was cause for concern at one point) so all they know is having the other there. They miss each other at college but have regular contact. They almost never fight but they are different in so many ways. I'm crazy about both of them.
With some trepidation we drove up to our ski chalet off Bridger Bowl. It was described as a "rustic" A-frame. Rustic in MT usually means rough hewn wood (check), dirt as part of the decor (no check) and heat is for sissies (thank God, no check). Part of rustic was that we were completely unplugged-no cell service, no internet. We were there to face ourselves, each other, God and the mountain. The A-frame reminded me of a spaceship. To get to it, you had to climb up, what seemed to be miles, of mountain goat-inspired stairs to the cabin (on parts of it I had to hang onto Rhett's coat and let him drag me since I hadn't worn ridged shoes). I couldn't breathe, really, after climbing up them once. The men were strong and brave hauling our stuff up there. Once there we seemed to be in a A-frame spaceship. There was a main floor with an A of all windows looking out on the snow and mountains, a kitchen, a 1/2 bath for midgets and small living area. Then you climbed up teeny tiny elfin stairs to the top of the A where there were two beds with the roof right over them. Going down from the main level, you opened a *hatch* (held heat in downstairs) and climbed down more treacherous elfin stairs (part of the charm) where there was a full bath (with its own heater-yea!), a large living area and entertainment system, the captain's quarters (the only bedroom with a door and it had a queen size bed) and 4 bunk beds. The decor was all MT and skiing. You could ski down to the ski lift and at the end of the day ski back to the cabin.
Rhett and I of course took the captain's quarters, Jonathan slept at the top of the A and Aaron in one of the bunks. Everywhere there were blankets (many with critter designs). You could have piled them to the ceiling if you wanted. When I woke up on our first day my personal monitors were flashing all red lights and informed me I had far exceeded my operational parameters and I wasn't going *anywhere*. I ached from head to toe and had wobbly legs (there was a lot of walking and climbing at Fairmont and on our travel day). God blessed us with a scenic snow storm and I had books. I felt such peace, such gratitude as I rested and soaked in the Montanishness of it all. Rhett got up and skied early (freak) and came back later for our boys who had needed some beauty sleep.
My first day on the slopes, the next day, I had a horse/ski whisperer named Ric who gave me a 90 minute solo lesson to regain old skills. I had been a fairly good skier when we lived there. However, I was scared shitless now. I had visions of Jonathan getting hurt one year, Aaron breaking his leg in front of me the next year and of all of us getting spinal cord injuries, dancing through my head. He taught me a breathing exercise that involved flapping my arms a certain way on the inbreath at a certain point in a turn and in another way on the outbreath at a different place in the turn. He almost needed a crowbar to get me out of my default position which looked a lot like the fetal position on skis. When he set me free I had some confidence and even some skill. The second, and last day, all of my old and new skills came together. I understood how I could be a loose "statue" with "twisting hips" and breathe and turn. I skied through and past the fear to the point where I was an extension of the skis which were an extension of the snow, the mountain the world. It was beautiful, unforgettable, and transcendent. The joy, exhilaration, brief moments of sheer terror and peace were awesome. My falls were funny. My first fall a little girl came and plopped by me, checked to make sure I was OK then taught me how to get back up (I had forgotten and wasn't succeeding). Then the 7 or 8 year old made sure I got off OK. I had one fall where I summeraulted and wrenched my neck a bit right in front of a man my age. He asked if I was Ok and then said that that type of fall was called a "garage sale'-your stuff goes everywhere. I made some comments about my dignity. When his daughter asked what he was doing, he said, "Pushing down strangers". Then he offered. "since all of your dignity is gone" to help me up-it's much easier to be hauled up than get up on your own.
On our last day I skied a lot with Aaron who had an affinity for the same "easy" (that's relative to Bridger, not other mountains-the boys said that an easy on Bridger was like an intermediate or more in our arean) slopes I did. We had a blast. For about an hour we all skied together-even all on one lift seat at one point, which involved a lot of trash talk. Aaron kept me from getting lost or ending up at the top of a hill that was too hard. He patiently waited for me since I zig zag more than he does but I have prettier turns. Jonathan liked more suicidal hills and Rhett, I don't even want to think about the hills he went down but he's really good. Jonathan and Rhett seem to lack the terror gene. We all got along like old friends. It really was splendid. I felt and feel blessed by God for each of them and for being able to make the trip. We agreed we need to go again.
We packed up and said goodbye the next day to the mountain. I met a precious old friend at the airport who I have dearly missed. He's one of the kindest, godliest, humble, gifted, men and pastor I've ever known. We became close when we lived in Bozeman and he was a pastor at the Nazerine Church. He really helped my relationship with God and I hope to see him again soon.
The trip home was a delight of smelly airports, planes built for dwarfs, foraging for food, and to end our perfect trip, our luggage did not arrive when we did. Poor Jonathan had a suitcase full of dirty clothes (yes, there was a washer and dryer in the A-frame) and had to leave for JMU the next day. The saga had a happy ending as everything was delivered to us by early afternoon the next day and he got off for college fine. I managed to catch a bug right on the last day which progressed into flu, misery, and loss of voice. Still, I've been able to work this week and I *love my job*. Two weeks off was just what the doctor ordered. I'm on mostly vocal rest because of laryngitis but that just makes life interesting.
So, we all had a great time and I hope you are all doing well and finding peace in your lives. Love,
Kirsten
You must be the change you wish to see in the world.
Mahatma Ghandi
Beware of no man more than of yourself; we carry our worst enemies within us.
Charles Spurgeon
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Kirsten, RN, LPC
Radford, VA
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