The Christmas time JE's father was so sick with cancer, JE and I journeyed to Utah. Not knowing what we would find when we arrived and badly needing to unwind from our super busy work lives, we stopped in Zion National Park for a couple days before heading north to Provo.
Zion in December is cold and amazing. Zion is a place made from water, which stilled to ice in the short, winter days. We did a lot of night hiking on some of the shorter trails and discovered walls of rock swathed in ice from the springs that ooze even in winter. Waterfalls were changed into giant icicles and the emerald pools were dark and smooth with ice.
One night we wandered into a field with our back-pack beach chairs and a thermos of hot chocolate and sat under a star cluttered sky with a head lamp and a star chart. It was about 16 degrees outside, but we stayed a couple hours, wrapped together in wool and fleece.
We just came back from out nightly swim. I have been so tired lately, I really didn't want to go, but JE just kept gently persisting--handing me my swim suit, asking if I have the pool key, "Esta lista Chinita?" (I'm never sure why he calls me his little China girl, but I love it tenderly), wondering if my dinner is sufficiently digested so I don't get cramps... I swam hard, sucking air and drops of water by the end of my 12th lap and ready for my cool down. Afterward, we sat in the hot tub and watched the stars through the steam.
We walked home in the cold, swaddled in beach towels and a bathrobe, still dripping. So glad I have him.
(We ran for 30 minutes this morning also, but I missed my commute via bicycle--it rained last night.)
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