Ok lets see if I remember how to do this..
The twenty minute lifetime theme has really struck a chord with me this year, and I didn't understand how much this pertained to me until recently. I grew up in northern Minnesota and since I was three skiing has been a big part of my life. I realize that of the ten posts I've written this semester half have been related to the subject of skiing, and I swear this will be the last one (probably). In northern MN the weather is cold, the town I'm from, Duluth, is actually the second coldest city in the United States. So it's no surprise that we Duluthians spend alot of time involved in winter activities, and one of the main reasons I moved to Montana, a state with a climate very similar only more snow and mountains.
Every year I try and get 100 days of skiing, while this may seem like alot it's never enough for me and the seasons seem to fly by, my twenty minute lifetime lasts for half a year and the time waiting for snow to fall again literally feels like a lifetime.
I've had a very unfortunate season this year and twenty minutes hardly describes the waiting I've endured. By December 9th I fractured two ribs on the right side of my chest. Waiting for them to heal felt like a lifetime and by the end of the month I was tired of it, and against Doctors orders decided I was ready to ski again. Every day hurt and by January 6th I had re-fractured the previously broken ribs. Now I was back to the beginning and this time ready to wait the six weeks for them to heal. For me this was another lifetime. But I was patient and by February 6th (my birthday) I was ready to ski again. Looking back on this time my lifetime seemed to fly by, I was happy and had a purpose in life again, beyond school. This feeling lasted until spring break, when I fractured ribs on the other side of my chest.
I've never experienced pain like this, physical and emotional. The painkillers prescribed to me worked well with the pain I had from everyday activities like walking, studying, and breathing. However they did little to help me come to terms with the fact that I had watched a ski season come and go.
If someone had told me before winter started I would spend it waiting for my friends to get back from Big Sky, well I don't know what I would have done, probably cried a little (lot). But after having learned about the twenty minute lifetime, and the two second lifetime, It helps me put all of this into perspective. And when it comes down to it, this Winter isn't a blur like all the others, It stands out among the others. The time I've spent with people in town while others are at the mountain this year is almost priceless, I've gotten really close with friends I didn't know I had, and without learning about the twenty minute lifetime this semester, I know I wouldn't feel the way I do today. I'd probably still be crying ha ha.