Moving to fast

I can't believe that Monday we will be down to nine weeks. Nine weeks left of families, nine weeks left of full staff, nine weeks left of summer fun. I am reminded of grade school and the anticipation of the final nine week quarter before summer vacation. The last quarter only nine weeks, I can make it I know I can. Yet here I feel the opposite occurring. How can there only be nine weeks left? It seems as if the staff has just arrived and in a short time most of them will all be gone again, leaving me once again to silent solitude that Mountain Sky offers during the off season. The first family week passed by so quickly with the second ending with the days setting sun. It is amazing how a consistent schedule can make the time pass so rapidly. Time is not measured by days here, but rather by activities. It is dinner ride tonight so therefore it must be Wednesday, or the talent show is tonight therefore it is Friday and another week is about to come to a close. I would be lying if I didn't say that I did find this system to be supremely enjoyable. Even though I do find myself working more here than I ever have before, the work at this point is not tedious and overbearing. At no point have I complained about having to work tonight or having to do this or that. In fact I find quite the opposite happening. As our staff grows more and more into a family rather than purely co-workers, I find my want and need to help the other staff members increasing because I know how difficult this job can be. I don't mind hopping behind the bar on my night off or clearing glasses from the lodge to make the overall appearance better for the guests and staff alike. Although Angie says I do too much it is that attention to detail that helps make the lodge run like a finely tuned machine that it is.

It's almost comfortable to know that things are always changing here but they are always staying the same. You can always count on breakfast and lunch rides, Dr. Splashball and Gourmet nights, the only thing that changes is each week you have eighty new guests to experience it all over again with. Each week I have eighty new names to memorize in twenty four hours even as the old ones still linger in my mind. The experiences get crazier and more intense as each staffer gets more comfortable with their positions. But I know that mid summer lull will hit us all soon. I have seen it before, people will get burned out and bored and to be honest, that is truly when the fun begins. Tensions rise and the staff will find interesting ways to entertain themselves and thats when my practical joking fun can really begin.

Until then I enjoy the company, the endless string of mostly well-to-do down-to-earth guests who want nothing more than to enjoy their vacation in the mountains and make sure that both you and them are hammered for at least the evenings of their stay. I will certainly enjoy the staff and the new friendships I have made. I certainly never thought that I would ever know so many people from Minnesota and certainly I did not think I would like so many of them. But we do for the most part have an absolutely amazing staff here at Mountain Sky granted we have some bad apples as one could imagine there would be where ever you go. Even in a highly seclusive place like this somebody has to fill into that role, I just thank my lucky stars that that person was not me.

With all that said as I sit here and reflect I can truly say with as little hesitation as I have ever been able to muster that I am happy and it has been a long time since I have been able to say that and actually mean it.