So how's married life, anyways?
Happy Snow Day, friends!
Lately, I’ve been a lot of the same questions over and over again (mostly, because I haven’t been talking about any of them on Social Media at all), so I thought now would be a good time for a little life update around here.
Because I just know you’ve been DYING to know all about my life. Probably just sitting around, twiddling your thumbs, waiting for me to post again…
Just kidding! If you’re reading, thank you. I’m sharing because ya’ll have been in this with me for a long time, and have followed along with all our craziness, and this week I wanted to fill you on how things are going.
Particularly, I’m going to answer the three big questions I keep getting (and rightfully so!):
How’s married life?
How’s Joe?
When are you moving to Colorado?
So let’s dive right in and I’ll spill all the deets.
HOW’S MARRIED LIFE?
Truth is, I wouldn’t really know! We haven’t lived together for more than a week or so at a time since we’ve been married. Granted, we lived together for a long time before we actually got married, so it’s not like I’m waiting for some big marriage secret to be revealed or anything. It was just unfortunate timing that as soon as we got married, Joe went right back into competition mode and I just don’t have much to compare this ‘married life’ to, other than we already felt married before we were actually married.
That said though, it’s been a long winter after a very long 2018…and we’ve still got a ways to go. I suppose the one thing I have learned about being married is that this year we’ve been having a much harder time being apart than we did last year. I can’t explain why it’s harder this year than last year, other than the fact that we are married this year? I suppose that is a pretty big thing… but I do know that I’m just ready to not be apart anymore.
HOW’S JOE?
Two weeks out from Canada, Joe had his follow up doctor appointment for his shoulder. We weren’t really sure what they were going to say. They were either going to say yes, you’re good to go, or no you’re not and you need more time. We were definitely mentally prepared for the latter (getting told no) and we had decided before that that Joe would be competing no matter what.
And before you make judgment on him competing regardless of his injury (unless you know Joe, in which case you wouldn’t be surprised at all), here’s why: Joe really had 3 options at that point: 1. he doesn’t compete at all and he essentially forfeits the rest of the season as you have to have a certain amount of points to qualify to compete in the remaining competitions this season. 2. He competes and falls and hurts himself again, and he’s out for the season anyways. 3. He competes, he doesn’t fall or hurt his shoulder, and he can move on!
Well, obviously, it didn’t matter because the doc gave the okay for him to compete, and he totally KILLED IT in Canada (see below…).
Joe raced Boarder Cross in two World Cups, and got 5th in the first one and 6th in the second, which are his best finishes in Boarder Cross races to date! This also means that he got a good amount of points for those placements, and he is now ranked NINTH in the entire world for Adaptive Lower Limb 2 Category in Boarder Cross, which is just crazy incredible! AND this was after less than 2 weeks of training coming off his shoulder injury.
Just in case you were wondering about the ‘Lower Limb 2 Category,’ I’ll explain real quick. In the Paralympic World, they have 3 separate categories for men and for women: Upper Limb, Lower Limb 1, and Lower Limb 2. Upper Limb is missing or having an impairment in one or both arms. Lower Limb 1 is missing two joints in your legs, so either both feet or an above the knee amputee (missing one foot joint and one knee joint on one leg). Lower Limb 2 is missing one joint or having another type of impairment such as a club foot, cerebral palsy or MS, etc. No matter what the category they are, these ladies & gents are one word: BADASS. They ride and they rip and they shred it up. I’m completely in awe of all of them and find them to be the most inspiring community of people from all over the world I’ve ever met. Especially when we get to hang out after the competition is over and everyone is so down to earth and fun to be around. I’ve truly enjoyed getting to know this amazing community and feel lucky to be a small part of it.
That all said, Joe is amazing! And he qualified for the upcoming races in Spain, and that will hopefully be followed by Finland and Sweden. He leaves next week for 10 days in La Molina & Barcelona, Spain. No, unfortunately, I don’t get to go this time. But we’re hopeful that next year I’ll be able to join a few more places in his travels! I’ll just keep living vicariously through him and keep rooting for him from home!
COLORADO UPDATE
So…Colorado. The BIGGEST of all the questions- when exactly am I moving?! I know, I know. I made this big exciting announcement last year, then I got married, and now, here I am, six months later still sitting around in Fredericksburg. Will she ever leave?
Yes! I am leaving! I swear. I’m getting there as fast as I can, and sometimes that doesn’t feel fast enough.
Joe has an apartment with his roommate/teammate, Dustin (a fellow below the knee amputee) and his sweet malamute/wolf dog, Allie, until April 15th. It’s a two bedroom apartment, so it’s not super big, and between three adults and two large dogs, it would be a lot if I headed out there right now. That said, between that and still tying up a lot of work items around Fredericksburg, it doesn’t make sense for me to move out there until we can get our own place, which will hopefully be in April or May. We’ve been told that the best rental months are May/June, but obviously we’d love to find something a little bit earlier than later for sure. A lot of factors go into finding a place to live: location, space, (and the biggest one) price. So fingers crossed we find something that works for us! Especially for our littlest Grohly Poly Oly. He is going to love it there!
Am I ready to move out there? Absolutely. I’ve never been more ready for anything in my life…well, maybe my wedding :). I love my in-laws, and they’ve been amazing to live with, I couldn’t have made it through this winter without them. But they’re not Joe, and it’s not our little family or our own space. There’s just a difference, ya know? We are beyond ready to be past this transition phase and into our new home out in Colorado as a family.
And as my dear friend Amy Sides (she’s on the left in the photo) asked, ‘When you are coming home?’ And that’s exactly how I am starting to feel, like i’m ready to go home.