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We’re coming to you live this week from the tail end of a ski trip in Colorado. My ideal weather for a calendar year is 11 1/2 months of warm sunny temps by the beach (which is why we live in Florida), one week of skiing and one week in the mountains during the summer. This was our week of snow and it was awesome. Got fresh powder on two of the days. Hot cocoa after ski runs. Warm cookies. Can’t beat it…

And the kids are also good enough now where we can hit trails all over the mountain.

And yet…

They still fall sometimes. And on this amazing occasion during a Finkel family run, my son wiped out then my daughter wiped out then my wife went down…

And all I could do as the concerned, caring dad that I am, was take this epic photo:

BOOKS

S. by John Updike

I usually pack at least 2 books on a weeklong trip, but when we go skiing we stay in a lodge where the owners usually have a selection of well-worn books. It’s a different room every time so I never know what I’m gonna get, but I like to read a random book I’d have never thought to read on my own.

This week it was John Updike’s S.

Confession: I’d never read a book by Updike.

The premise of this one was unique: the story is about a 42-year-old wealthy, bored woman who decides to leave her cheating husband to run off to Arizona to become a guru at an Ashram. Bizarre? Yeah. Even more unique is that the story is told through a series of letters the woman sends to her ex-husband, daughter and assorted friends along the way.

The book is weird, clever and at times legitimately funny. S., the main character, is in the thick of discovering who she really is (or could be) after dedicating 22 years to being a proper, well-to-do housewife…and her revelations are entertaining.

This book was never, ever on my radar. I hadn’t even heard of it. Updike, obviously, I’ve known. And now I will be sprinkling his classics in. I’ve clearly been missing out.

BICEPS

Skiing in snow for 8 hours is a workout. No doubt about it. And it’s even more of a workout when you’re picking your kids up from falling every 45 minutes or so and humping their skis and poles halfway around the mountain.

I don’t hit the gym on our ski trips. I’m usually pretty beat by the time we get off the slopes. Every other day I’ll bang out 100 - 200 push-ups at some point because… well… I’m a meathead…

OR…

If I come across a tree with the right height, I’ll bang out a few sets of pull-ups:

Been an amazing week with the family. Seems like just yesterday we came here for the first time 5 years ago and the kids were both tiny and in ski school and staying on the bunny hill. Now they’re skiing blues, carving and up for a full day on the mountain. Life moves pretty fast. Always grateful for time away from the day-to-day with my wife and kids.

Thanks for reading.

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Have a great weekend!

Jon