Burning Off the January Gloom

Burning Off the January Gloom

Los Angeles has a weather pattern that has become a social phenomenon.  Native Los Angeleans call it "June Gloom."  For a Colorado native and long-time Utah resident and, perhaps most significantly, the daughter of a meteorologist who taught his children to love the changing seasons, "June Gloom" baffled me.  in a nutshell, the ocean currents combined with the jet stream patterns create foggy, misty mornings and brilliant, sun-filled afternoons.  The metamorphosis from fog to sunshine is called "burning."  The sun literally burns the fog away.  It seemed to me the best thing L.A. had going for itself weather-wise--really, the only thing it had going for itself in the weather category from my perspective.  But, to use a cliche`, I digress.  January is, for me, the gloomiest of months.  It had nothing to do with the cold, snowy weather patterns that usually dominate the Rocky Mountain west in January (this winter being a huge exception); I quite enjoy the snow and cold temperatures (which might explain my position on the "June Gloom"ers in L.A..).  And it has nothing to do with setting unattainable goals and failing to stay the Resolution Course.  Indeed, I do not believe in New Year's Resolutions for one reason:  it seems to breed a laziness (yes; laziness).  You may wonder how.  Allow me one more digression.  Over the years, I have noticed a behavior pattern--an alarming one, really:  as a culture, we put off important, sometimes life-changing, indeed, at times, life-SAVING changes in behavior, until January 1st, even if we need to make the change in June.  And because we do this, we often allow the more insidious problem of excusing detrimental life choices in our light banter about the inevitable failure of New Year's Resolutions.  This is in no way to say that goals and resolutions are inherently bad or that I can come up with a totally new paradigm for the concept of a new year, and I may yet change my mind about this . . . but, for now, this is my position on the proverbial resolution season.  So . . . that is my soapbox for the year.

Back to my January Gloom:  it derives from my love of the holidays.  During November and December, a general warmth characterizes our society; January, then, represents to me the return to the slightly colder mood of the country--maybe even the world, but definitely the country.  I find myself switching from a fully engaged "Hi!  . . . I'm doing well, and you?" exclaimed in a single breath, the letters and syllables tripping off my tongue in their hurry to connect with humanity to a two-breath greeting that, in its tone, announces the end of holiday joy:  "[breath in, deeply] Hi . . . . [tilt head to right, chin coming to rest on the chest by the end, eyes downcast, and slowly, painfully, exhale as the word pushes itself out of you, this time the letters and syllables tumble in slow motion down the larynx] I'm fine" so that the "fine" sounds thusly:  "f
                                                                                                ii
                                                                                                  ii
                                                                                                    nn
                                                                                                    e."
That is my yearly January Gloom, and I dread the end of the holiday season every year because of this recurring gloom.  But not so this year!

The barn in Saratoga Springs, the barn itself, practically hums with excitement as the new year, new schedule, and new opportunities play out.  The middle group, the trot teams, come to the barn bursting with energy and focus.  The "Fire" and "Ice" teams (so named because of the horses they ride, Miss Fire Opal and "Iceland") begin the year with tryouts.  Technique Equestrian Club enters a new phase this year.  Because the team is relatively young as athletic teams go, the coaches and those in charge feel it has enough depth of talent and commitment from both the athletes and their parents/families that Technique can climb to even higher heights than it has so far, which is saying a lot.  When you take home the majority of first place slots in the men's divisions and have a healthy showing in the women's divisions, climbing to greater heights can seem a bit daunting.  But not to Technique.  Excitement permeates the team in anticipation of what comes next and of what could be.  Under the direction of the creative and technical expertise of the coaches and longers, Technique is growing into a more formal vaulting club.
   

At a parent/coaches meeting in November, Cambry announced that Technique has reached the point that it needs a formal board of directors, a president and all positions that entails, and that specific guidelines and requirements will be put in place for competitive vaulting.  Our president is Brian Winther, and rest of the Board will be decided at the Technique Banquet on January 14.  We are also all looking towards Kentucky and the benefits and costs of going.  Part of this involves getting the vaulters to their competitive best performances and the creation of multi-vaulter performances.  To this end, Technique is holding the aforementioned tryouts,

When I mentioned that to my son, absolute panic ensued.  I assured him that he had already "made" the team (if you commit to two classes a week and to competing, the coaches will make sure you excel to your personal best and they place each vaulter in the right class/on the right team for them) and that the tryouts simply meant that the coaches were assessing the compatibility of vaulters on each team.  This means that they are looking for the group of vaulters that work and look best together in order to create the double and triple routines.  This, combined with advice I borrowed from Tara Winther (she explained to Ian--and thus I explained to Ari--that not making the multi-person squad simply meant that the other(s) had a more important position--the person who has to know all the parts of the doubles and triples routines in case they had to step in for a vaulter who couldn't make it to a particular competition) calmed him down.  And the fact that Cambry and Jake decided to use class time to assess the skills and compatibility of the vaulters instead of holding formal tryouts erased most of the panic. 

Watching the "Fire" and "Ice" teams venture into the heretofore unknown (to most) arena of doubles and triples has been educational and delightful.  I enjoy watching the kids not only perfecting their own moves and creating challenging and exciting free-style routines and working together on basic "team" moves but also helping each other achieve their best performances for the assessment.  I cannot think of another situtation in which athletes wanting to compete at a national level (and some even aspire to the international level) helping the same team mates they are up against in a tryout situation do their best in those same tryouts.  It truly speaks to the spirit of this team and its coaches and longers.  While each vaulter sincerely wants to be the best they can be, and while each vaulter sincerely wants to take first place in each category in which they compete, they also and equally desire their team mates to achieve the same, even if they are competing for the same first place or the same position on the squad. 
   

The positive and creative energy bursting through the barn in Saratoga Springs and the graceful leadership of Technique has managed to burn off my January Gloom this year.