weekend epiphanies

this past weekend, i went rock climbing outdoors with a bunch of DC climbers. one of the guys had previously arranged a "newbie" day, so being a newbie to the area and a medium-newbie to the sport, i accepted the invite and tagged along. bright and early saturday morning, still in the cool maryland air, routes and top-ropes and crash pads were already set, and we started the mingling and climbing.

by late morning, i had comfortably sent 3 routes and made 15 new friends. and as we sat around, chatting about beef jerky, nicknames, hair gel, climbing shoes, and work, i realized something -- these people enjoy their lives. most of them spend their weekdays, like me, stuck in some office cubicle doing work that may or may not excite them, and though not everyone is lucky enough to find a perfect-o job, this other stuff counts too. two of the people, "vegas" and alice, both in their late-20s, have young kids, ages 1ish and 2ish. and as they belayed one another, they talked about their recent problems in trying to feed their picky kiddos. and as amused as the rest of us young'uns were, we were more amazed and inspired -- there is no better place to discuss your kids' diets than on a climbing trip at the end of summer.

so it's monday again, humid and slow, but there's gotta be something good in the day. so it goes, this is life. :)