The importance of goggles

Right now I am trying to decide which hurts more, my arms or my neck.

Both were involved in the full-body face plant/front flip I performed on my first run of the morning yesterday.

I had a little equipment problem. My anti-fog goggles were fogged up, and there was nothing I could do about it. So, I couldn't see. So, I hit some big chunk of ice or something (don't know, since I couldn't see), and fell. Hard.

After recovering from having the wind knocked out of me, I stood up and went slowly the rest of the way down without goggles. Not ideal, since without goggles the cold wind caused my eyes to tear up, which also made my vision a bit blurry.

My goggles never did recover, but lucky for me, my husband had left his in the car, so I switched out and went on to have a fantastic day on the slopes. Two days earlier, I had been freezing, with snow dumping and the wind blowing. The powder was fantastic but visibility was not so great. So, it was wonderful to be out on a sunshiny, clear day, with views of Lake Tahoe and the surrounding mountains. Gorgeous.

Each season brings that day when I really start to feel comfortable, when I'm ready to head down the steeper hills and even try some itty-bitty jumps. This was that day.

I finally made myself stop and go home, because it was time, and because I was tired, even though I was having so much fun I was trying to convince myself I was not tired.

When I got back in town I went to our local ski/surf shop.

First things first. I had been drinking water all the way home and needed a potty break.

Me: Do you have a restroom?

Heavily tattooed guy behind counter: Nope, sorry, we don't.

Me: Okay, no problem. [squirming] I just wanted to see if I could get a couple of snowboards waxed and edged.

Tattoo guy: No, sorry, we're not doing that this season.

Me: Oh. Well, do you know any place where I might be able to take it?

Tattoo guy: No, I don't. Sorry.

Me: Okay, well, I also needed some new lenses for my goggles. Can you order those?

Tattoo guy: We can't. Maybe you could find them online?

Me: Allrighty then.

Tattoo guy: You sorta struck out here, huh?

Me: For sure.

And then I made the 20 minute drive home, where I went immediately to the bathroom.

Next time, I won't make assumptions. I will call first.