Okee this time we are going to train for the Barre des Ecrins for real. Oh gosh, I look at the date when I wrote this down in my diary and it was on 15/12/21. That’s like two and a half years ago. So okee that was the best time to start training, this is the second best time. Right? I didn’t really train this week, but last week was rath. Ran three times in a week and did do kilterboarding that makes you extremely strong.
I also started eating way better. In the morning I make a fresh green juice, I eat salad for lunch and at night I eat rice and vegies (and now I’m writing and eating popcorn and drink white wine, but most writers smoke, so this is already way better then uhm most other writers. Right?) Anyways, I did made a long walk today and did hours of scrubbing the walls of my little mountain cabin.
Okee to be honest it’s not really a mountain cabin, as it is not really in the mountains, but I do have pictures in my little cabin of the mountains as I’m an analogue photographer who sells here mountain pictures. Not a lot, but a few and I can pay my groceries of it, so it’s a good start. Don’t know how I’m going to pay the other bills, but I guess you can’t find out everything all at once, right?
I’m just hoping some enormous client will find my website and say; oh my gosh, these are the most amazing pictures I’ve ever seen in my life. I want them all! I mean these things do happen. And if I look at my pictures I would buy them all! Only my little cabin is like uhh to little (maybe I can print all my pictures in mini format and make a giant wallpaper of it).
So because I’m tired of waiting and hoping (and I have this new mantra: stop waiting, start creating) this week I send out a couple of emails to amazing companies who also have a product or a mission that is related to nature. I’m not going to name the company names, because maybe that brings bad luck (well how positive of me), but it would be so so cool if I can work for them. Like yes Chantal of course come over. We will pay your flight to visit us so you can show us what photos we can buy (in case they don't have internet and can't look it up on my website, but then they wouldn't have found me either, well never mind..) or maybe you can shoot new ones for us in like uhm Patagonia (just to name something).
It would be awesome, because then I can shoot photos in the mountains and at the same time train for my big adventure which is called: climb the Barre des Ecrins (and come back alive). So let’s see what a wrote about this forever plan of me two and a halve years ago. Oh gosh it’s about this forever crush I have on this guy (and I’m definitely not going to mention his name, because of the bad luck remember) that I call my Mountain Man.
Since I was a little girl and I went up in the mountains with my dad for the very first time of my life I saw man that looked so adventurous. Just way way different than men in suit that I know from my daily life in Spijkenisse ( I can a sure you: there is nothing adventurous about growing up there). And I immediately fell in love with these strong looking men. And I decided: when I grow up I want to find a mountain man.
So a couple of years ago, I remember it was a lovely sunny day, and I felt on top of the world. I really really enjoyed my life just the way it was: a single mom and a writer for a big newspaper and I hopped from coffee bar to coffee bar. I parked my bike at a coffee bar next to central station Rotterdam and when I entered the place I heard this inner voice saying: There is your mountain man. Like super super clear. Almost like someone said it out lout next to me. At that specific moment, one guy turns his head and looks at me. And when I looked into his eyes I knew it was him.
I had never ever seen this guy in my enter life, nor did I know he was related to the mountains (which is like 00.001 change when you meet people in my city). But I knew, I just knew. And when I came across his place and looked at his laptop, that he just opened, I saw all pictures of mountains. I was blown away… how on earth.. Everyone who knows me, know I’m absolutely the girl who just goes to a guy when I like him, but this time I just didn’t dare doing it. He was just to handsome..
So after an hour of looking at him (really I had a deadline for the newspaper, but couldn’t write one single world, with this guy so close to me) he left the coffee bar and that was it. And that was 5 years ago and we are still not together and I’m not sure it will ever happen. Although I know who he is now and I told him already many times that I like him (and also already dated many other guys, because.. well there are a lot of really cute and handsome boys and my MM was always really clear: nope I don’t date you). So I thought; well maybe I just have to let this ridiculous thought fade away and create a life with another mountain man. But somehow it just never worked out with other mountain man. Although they were super sweet, lovable, real nice guys.. they were… just not him.
Fast foreward: I just realized last month I do can climb this Barre des Ecrins on my own. I do not have to wait for MM, because then I can probably wait like forever. I can hire a mountain guide. Actually I already found one years ago. Well I didn’t really found him, he accidentally crossed my path when I was writing in refuge Glacier Blanc in France and some really handsome mountain man asked me who this mysterious mountain writer was.
He was not used seeing a girl on her own just sitting and writing in a diary in the mountains ( I so like the fact he called me a Mountain Writer, which makes me MW which fits perfectly with MM, so romantic don’t you think). But okee this mountain guide did wanted to take me to the top, but had one little tiny suggestion that I started training first: ‘’get extremely fit and then I will take you there’’.
So fast forward again: 4 years later I’m still not extremely fit or like MM told me last time: be outrageous fit. Like uhm okee, never have been outrageous fit to be honest. Although in my head I am, but then I look in the mirror and I’m like ‘nope false self-image MW’’ I’m extremely good in creating a false self-image in my head (like in my head me and MM are already a couple and we climb mountains together and I’m extremely fit and famous and sell so many photo’s worldwide…. Well it all starts with imagination right? And then making steps towards your goal...always forget that step..)
But the truth is I like to take photos in nature, but I also like to write. A lot. And when you write, you sit still. I’m a Mountain Writer. So basically I sit still in the mountains (or well most of the time in my mountain house that is not even in the mountains), only moving my fingers on my laptop. Ow and ofcourse sometimes I stand up to get me something like wine or popcorn..
I guess I need a plan. No actually I’m not a big fan off plans. I just dream and also start creating. Tomorrow (when I wake up) I will go for a run, do more scrubbing on my house and later I will do more writing. Today during my walk I shot amazing pictures in a parc close to my little house. Every time I fell in love with mother nature again. I just wonder how people live without her.
I did for many years and only lived between four walls and now I’m constantly outside. Like now, I’m writing behind my desk in my garden. I have two candles that go out every bloody minute because there is so much wind ( I need to find a solution for that) and hear the crickets. Ow how I love that sound. In the morning I wake up because of the sound of all the birds in my garden. I have so so many. I don’t need to set an alarm. The birds are waking me up.
And then I get up, make myself a lovey coffee, go outside barefoot and sit in the grass with my face towards the sun and just slowly wake up. Feeling very very grateful for my life. I just love it! Make sure you enjoy yours now.
Lot's of love,
MW
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