21 Days...

It's Friday... exactly 21 days from now until I hop in a car and follow my childhood back to Gatlinburg... my adult childhood that is. The days before waking up at 5:30 in the morning and working the 7-5 (it seems soooo much longer when you see it in print). The days when, if you did have to wake up at 5:30, it was probably in the afternoon.

In 21 gut-wrenching days I will be a kid again. I can't express in words the anticipation that I feel right now. I want to go now and never, never, ever come back. I want to sit in the hot tub until I just melt away. I want to play pool and choke at the winning moment. I want to sing horribly and have everyone laugh at me (and you will). I want to drink until I don't really remember any of it and then get to relive it again in videos and stories.

I am sad for the 3 years that I didn't attend. I feel like I lost a part of my adult childhood. I feel like I neglected my innocence. I wonder what would have happened had I been there and how many bones I might have broken. I wonder how many times Amber would have tried to push me down the stairs... I wonder...

I'm bringin' the camera this year. I'm ready. I'm willing. I'm able. I'm strong. I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and damnit... I AM A SKI TRIPPER!

The gauntlet is down... the invitation is out... Bring it on!