A Year of Firsts

2018 was my first full year living a settled life – not as a travel PT.

It has definitely been a transition – a transition that I might not be fully appreciating until now. Friends often ask, “Do you miss traveling?” I answer quickly, “Yes”. But, as I reflect, I realize all the things that have gone on in the last year. A lot of the things that I accomplished could only happen once I was done with the travel lifestyle. I loved my life traveling for work between ski slopes and beaches, but this year has been pretty special.

Violet charging around in the backyard of our family cabin in the foothills of Pikes Peak

This is the first year since 2004 that I have lived in one domicile for an entire year. Kate and I bought a house out here in Colorado almost two years ago. After months of DIY jobs and decorating, we are finally feeling a sense of home. Previous to this, we had briefly worked as permanent PTs before our 10-year stint as travelers. Before that, we had each traveled state-to-state for clinicals our final 6 months of PT school. …and prior to that, lived in a potpourri of apartments scattered across the segment of Boston inhabited by Northeastern University students.

I finally lived in Colorado long enough to get acclimated to the altitude. Many say it takes 2 weeks to get acclimated, I insist it takes more like 6 months to truly feel strong. I had grown up outside of Boston, but visited a family cabin in Colorado at 8,000 ft for just a week or two most summers. On most trips, someone got altitude sickness. Whether it be me, a family member, or a friend I had brought along, someone would puke intensely for about 24 hours, and then be fine for the rest of the trip. Now knowing what I know about altitude sickness, we might have approached acclimation a little more seriously.

This sign put up near an aid station about halfway up Pikes Peak made me laugh out loud. A bunch of rescue workers and volunteers were camping out around that part of the mountain… with a helicopter, just in case.

When I was a kid, my family trips to the cabin were usually during the last couple weeks of summer before heading back to school. We were often at the cabin during my birthday which is the same week as the running of the Pikes Peak Marathon. On most trips to the cabin, my family would drive up the “Pikes Peak Highway” to the 14,110 ft summit of “America’s Mountain”. On more than one occasion, we were at the top during the marathon to watch runners tag the 13 mile mark of the race, barely pause, and head back down. We all thought those guys were a bunch a psychos – who would want to do that? At some point along the way, I decided that I too was a psycho who wanted to do it – probably intense nostalgia and just a bit of hypoxia influencing that desire.

This year, I got to check the Pikes Peak Marathon off my bucket list. I was extremely excited and motivated during the whole process of training and through the marathon’s completion. The race went great! I took a relaxed approach and spent time getting food and water at each checkpoint. After resting a few minutes at the top to shoot some pictures, take in fuel, and have a small internal celebration, I soon realized many people were blowing past me to head back down to the finish line. I quickly rejoined the psychos for the 13 mile plunge back to the bottom. I am so happy to have had that experience. I don’t think I’ll do it again… but who knows.

Half way done. Feeling great taking pictures at 14,110 ft while this guy in the purple shirt and lady in the blue jacket both casually pass me and head back down.

I feel like staying in one place and stopping traveling finally let me make some headway professionally. I knew this would be a part of stopping travel, and it’s one small solace in losing several months near the coast each year. When I left my patients every 3-6 months, it was hard to find any sense of professional momentum. Now, working in one place for almost 2 years, I finally feel like I have some personal connection with my patients. I have people who come back every time they have an injury. I have malingerers who are constantly hurt and seem to never leave. I have doctors who expect me to be there for their patients. Most importantly, there is continuity – I get to see all patient cases to their end, and that has helped me grow tremendously as a clinician.

I still frequently joke about going back to travel, if only to make my co-workers uncomfortable, but let’s be honest, I have a house, I have a life here, and I have a kid – I am stuck!

Which brings about the greatest and best addition to my life – this has been my first full year with a kid. I can’t describe the happiness our daughter has brought. It’s a wild experience. At 1.5 years old, I’ve already been strapping her into skis in the backyard. She enjoys it for about 2 minutes, which is probably enough skiing when you’re one year old. People around here typically get their kids on the mountain in this first year – but I’m not so sure we need to be so aggressive about it. It will probably happen just before her 2nd Birthday, but only if the timing is right, and if it’s fun.

The whole fam damily.

I just remembered one other great thing from this year: my Boston Red Sox winning the World Series…. again! The Red Sox winning the World Series this year was the cherry on top of an already incredible year. Just had to mention that. GO SOX!

That’s it for now, but another year of adventures and firsts is just beginning. The whole family will head to CSM in Washington DC to kick off the year, and we’ve been brainstorming other potential air and road trips for the summer. Other APTA conferences have me busy zipping out of Colorado for 2-3 days at a time throughout the year. Hang on, it’s going to be a wild ride, and I’ll keep you updated as we go. Happy New Year!

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