The Hazard Chronicles

Last week, Adalie got to be featured a little bit. If you haven't read it already, you should. In short, she is doing well. As a follow-up, her and her partner got their scores back from the showcase and they both got the highest points possible. Even with a broken reed. They weren't actually competing since they aren't in high school yet, but if they were they would be headed to state. So, that's pretty neat.

Anyway, let's shift the focus here a little bit. Because it turns out that we actually have five awesome kids who do awesome things, and this week it was Evelyn's turn to shine. Seriously, it was a pretty good week for her.

For starters, her and her band entered the high school talent show. And they rocked! I think there were some nerves before this one because, unlike things they have done in the public sphere, this one was exclusively in front of their peers who they have to see every day in the hallways. They were the very first act which I think was a really good call on the part of the organizers because they definitely got the energy up in the room. They played Van Halen's "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love," which I thought was extremely ambitious of them, but they pulled it off. 

There were only a few times during practices that I thought cops might show up at our house for neighborhood complaints over the noise, but the hard work paid off and I can definitely say that they were a crowd favorite in the show. Kind of cool.

Second, she was given a letter this week for excellence in academics. Based on the image she goes for I don't think that most people would guess, but she currently rocks a 4.3 GPA. She seems to do it effortlessly because she is so quiet about it, but when you pay attention it becomes obvious that she puts a ton of work in. If anything, she is gifted in tenacity rather than having a natural talent for school. And lest there is any misunderstanding, I say that as the highest form of compliment. She will go as far as she wants to, simply because she wants it. That is something that I don't think is super common.

This trait carries over into the third thing I'll mention in this post. Evelyn, without a doubt, has taken the longest, hardest, gnarliest falls on the mountain this season. She has brought herself to tears multiple times, and as a dad, I have had moments of genuine concern for her physical safety as I watch her push herself. But there is never any hesitation on her part to shake it off and try again. And again. And again. This, I think, is a huge credit to her character. There are more naturally gifted skiers on the mountain, but it is rare to find someone with as much drive as she has. As a result, she is currently, week after week, pushing through boundaries that were unthinkable for her just a few months ago. This last week she probably skied more doubles than she has in the rest of her life put together. What's more, I expect that next week will be even more of the same. Again, she is so cool about it that you don't notice the effort until you put in the time with her, but when you do see it, it would be hard not to be impressed.

As an aside, we switched our season passes for this next year to Silver Mountain. We'll miss Lookout, but the bigger resort simply has more to offer for the whole family. It's also a little bit closer both to our home in Post Falls as well as the one in Wallace. It should be a good year.

This was actually taken earlier this year at Jackson Hole, but I thought it was fitting for this post.  Rock on, Ev.

Yesterday I was riding a lift with her, and kind of out of the blue she turned to me. "Hey dad," she said, "I really like living." 

I think my silence and maybe concerned look caused her to go on.

"Well...that sounds wrong. I don't mean it like that." She started laughing. "But like, I really like not just going through life, but like, really living it, you know? Like, doing all the things. I think it's really cool." 

Like, yeah, I get it, Ev. I like, really like living too. It's like, pretty awesome.

Have a good week!