A new rhythm

why I am making this offseason permanent.

Before I share my writing today, I’d like to give a shoutout to my fellow heart buddy, Leigh, over at

The Heart Dialogues

. Not only is she an incredible writer, but she also invites fellow heart buddies to guest write for her newsletter. A recent guest piece by

Jen Hyde

was particularly impactful for me. We heart patients don’t have the luxury of having a day off from our hearts, and as women, we have much more to consider than men when it comes to how hormones impact heart health. Jen’s piece was right on time. It’s amazing how that happens in my life over and over. Everything is always right on time. My deep hope is that my writing is on time for you, too.

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Last month, my beautiful little mountain town was in a time of year we locals call the offseason. The ski hills had closed but the national parks had yet to open which meant there was little to entice the tourists to travel here.

I always breathe a sigh of relief when this time of year comes around. There’s room for every soul to move. I think of the migrating animals and always hope less of our wildlife is hit on our area roads with less people behind the wheel. There are local specials for 2 for 1 dinners, special movie nights at the local theater, the local paper is a little thinner with articles, and even the gym has its quiet moments.

Even Hamilton embraced offseason.

In December 1998, I moved to Jackson, WY for a semester off from college. Once I graduated, I quickly made the Tetons my permanent home in May 2001. Fresh out of college and ready to take on the ski town lifestyle, I joined the rhythm that was tourist season, then offseason, then ski season, then offseason and then, back to tourist season. This rhythm matched my intensity in my 20s. I wanted to climb every peak, ski every run, mountain bike every trail, and hike over every mountain pass. I squeezed every minute out of every day and often made friends join in on the fun. I built a reputation that earned me the nickname, Five Feet of Extreme or 5FOX. 5FOX was an upgrade from the nickname, Peanut, from my college days (you do not have my permission to resurrect either nickname).

I reflect fondly on that time in my life. I saw a lot of the American West, fell in love, had my heart broken, made lifelong friends, worked my buns off for my M.Ed. and met Jason. There are days I long for that rhythm. Living that intently for and with each season was a unique way to engage in multiple revolutions around the sun.

Breaking my leg this last December forced me out of ski season and into offseason in a snap… err two snaps. I confessed midwinter to several ski buddies that I wasn’t sad to be out for a season. It was a strange admission. I moved here to ski. A lot of my career choices have been built around skiing. I surprised myself that I wasn’t sad about missing the hustle and bustle of the ski culture here.

I’ve needed a few months to dig into this new phase of life in which I have found myself and what I have accepted has surprised me. I am now declaring my life’s rhythm to be in a permanent offseason. Said differently, what I really want and am now officially embodying each and every day is to be living in the right-for-me season. The mood is the same as offseason. There is the right amount of people around. I do the next right thing that feels right for me, my nervous system and my heart, and I am mindfully squeezing out a sustainable number of juicy bits of out of life each day.

Don’t worry, I’ll ski again. I still want to go on big mountain bike rides and climb mountains. I just want to make the vibe of my life match offseason. All of the time and right on time.

Speaking of time, I’ve been in the midst of personal and professional shifts over the last five weeks. Stay tuned for updates and musings of how I have been leveling up this Spring. My podcast, The Heart Chamber, will be undergoing its own shifts and I am so excited to tell you once it’s time. :)

I love you.