The best turn

Those two swoops represent one of the best turns I took. About 11 years ago, on a bright, sunny, cold December day, I went downtown to an outside ice rink in Washington Square Park. I hadn't been skating in many years, and I don't know what lead me there that day. However, that afternoon led me to some of the most glorious times I've ever had.

I'm a skater. No, not a good one, but a passionate one. Eleven years after buying my skates (I'm on my third pair, the last pair was custom), finding a club, a coach, and a rink (maybe not in that order), I skate whenever I can. I try to learn new skills and work constantly to improve those that I have.

When I skate, everything else stops. I don't think about work, or that client, or the deliverable that was late (again), or any thing other than completing that turn--without falling, with my weight over my skating foot, and my posture upright.

Above are the marks of a 3-turn, named because the marks look like the number 3. To me, they represent freedom, passion, dedication, commitment, joy, frustration, my life.

The first turn

Just as I was thinking about shutting down my computer and leaving work early, my friend, C, called. I hadn't spoken to her in a month or two, as she had been on a trip that took her halfway around the world. I was simply busy at work and hadn't replied to her now 2-week old email. C was calling to invite my husband and me to dinner that evening. We already had plans, but C and I decided to meet for coffee instead. Now. So I left work a little early and had a delightful hour with C before going on my way and continuing with my all-too-planned life.

And that's what this blog is going to be about--those small moments in life when you take a different path, take a turn, stop and do something different, or just STOP, and in doing so, gain a new experience and enrich your life.

When did you last turn from your path? And what did you learn?