Chairlifts And Coffee And Dreams

The early morning sun sifts through the frosted windows and dances with the steam waving off of the top of my orange colored coffee cup. The room is filled with the blue light of the early morning, striped by the warm sun beams coming in. It's quiet. I am still and I feel rested.

I like to wake up early now. Since I've been working independently, life has been much better. I've been able to finally quell the dissonance from my life. I suffered the consequences of poor decision making for long enough. I finally sat down and did the work, and now I've afforded myself the ability to sip from this cup as I absorb the new day.

I spent nearly 20 years in a job that I never really wanted in the first place. I tried working in different schools and districts. I came to realize that it was the profession itself that was broken, and it almost broke me.

I've always wanted to live within 15 minutes of a chairlift. Now that I do, I realize that I had the right idea all along. I can work snowboarding into the fabric of my life, it's not in disharmony anymore. It's not a special consideration that has to be planned for. It's just part of the day, because I positioned myself in a way where it could be. Finally.

One thing is for sure, the mountains haven't lost their beauty, even after all of these years. They still speak to me. I belong here.

I used to settle. I guess I felt like I had to fulfill my responsibilities and take the hit so that my family didn't have to. I'm glad that phase of my life is over now. Now I get to truly be who I wanted to be.

Ironically, I make more money now than I ever did.

There were 4 or 5 times over the years when I jumped out of my teaching career, desperately trying to find a way to build a different life. I came close a couple of times, but we could never build enough runway to get that plane off of the ground.

Now, my kids are grown. All of that time invested into building stability for my family has paid off. They are good, which means I am good.

I sold my house and I moved to the mountains.

Each sip from this coffee cup tastes much better. I'm as grateful as I've always been, but much more fulfilled. I'm proud of my life, but I am glad that I am in a new chapter. I am able to gaze out of my window, knowing that work and play have become one.

My relationships are healthy. My body is healthy. My days are full. I get to give so much more now as a result.

I am me.

This piece was crafted after reading this article by Mark Thompson on Medium. I decided to give his writing prompt a try. I spent 30 minutes writing, 10 minutes touching it up, and 15 minutes posting it (plus 10 more looking for/creating an image). This is the result.

I wrote my response in the present tense because it felt more empowering. I'm still working making this dream a reality. I haven't moved to the mountains, yet, but I wrote this in the way I pictured it, as if it already had happened.

Here is the original prompt: Take 30 minutes today and write an article about where you want to be in 5 years’ time and what it would mean for you to get there.