In Kelly’s Words – Summer is Hectic!

Summer has finally arrived here in Vermont over the last few weeks. The wet spring (which lasted well into June) has turned to warm temps and blue skies. The complaining about not being able to mountain bike, get on the lake, and generally play outdoors gets quickly forgotten!

And reality has hit me hard. This past Monday was my first day back at work after my maternity leave. So many mixed emotions.

So in recognition of my hectic life right now, I wanted to write a hectic blog that is more of a grouping of some awesome stories that may go untold if I wrote a more focused blog. Here goes in chronological order.

CVU Graduation

I was invited by the senior class of Champlain Valley Union High School, which is the largest high school in Vermont, to give the commencement address at the graduation for the Class of 2019. While I didn’t go to CVU (I went to a private ski academy, GMVS, for high school), it was the high school where I would have gone, where most of my middle school friends went, and where my daughters are likely to go.

This was the biggest crowd I have ever spoken to! Over 1,000 people! I spoke about adversity, which the CVU Class of 2019 had faced it’s fair share this past year, and focused on attitude and approach when faced with it. Here’s a link to the write-up in the Charlotte News, our hometown VT newspaper 😉

My least favorite part about public speaking is when I don’t feel well prepared. I really like practicing my speeches and fully intended to while on maternity leave, but Nell was in a really precarious state where she’d fall asleep in my lap and I couldn’t make any noise. Every time I tried to practice my speech she would wake up! So I read my speech silently and practiced in my head but I never really got to practice out loud! I’ve heard from a bunch of people that they thought I did a good job so I think it turned out OK!

NEMBAfest

Each year the New England Mountain Bike Association hosts a HUGE festival at the Kingdom Trails in Burke, VT (the eastern Mecca of mountain biking). This year the KBF had a vendor tent manned by Greg, our new Program Director, and Jenn, our Event Manager. We also hosted an adaptive group ride together with our good friends at Vermont Adaptive and Fellowship of the Wheel (our Burington, VT-area trail building organization). It was awesome.

I was only there for a day-trip because I was leaving 2 kids at home, but Greg and Jenn reported that so many people were talking about seeing us out there during our group ride and seeing Greg and our friends at Vermont Adaptive out there ripping it up on off-road handcycles all weekend.

My favorite part: getting out and riding with our buddy (and former intern) Keenan while he tackled one of his favorite mountain bike trails from before his accident in his offroad handcycle. He’s a bit crazier than I am on the mountain bike, but it was really fun to see him (and chase him) while he rips the trails on his off road. It was awesome!

Back to Work!

This past Monday was my first day back from my maternity leave. Oh my goodness all the emotions! Nell has been great and Dylan continues to be a caring (if not over-excitable) big sister, but if you’ve ever ended a maternity leave, you know the mixed emotions: excitement to be back with adults, but the guilt and longing to be with your baby. It’s a personal choice for everyone, but I’m excited to be back seeing patients (I’m a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner if you’re new to my blog!) and with my colleagues again.

Thankfully Nell has been doing great in daycare so that makes it a lot easier on me.  Last blog I talked about how she wasn’t taking a bottle well, which continued to be the case the first couple times at daycare. But she has gotten a lot better and is now taking them well all the time. This has taken a lot of stress off of me knowing that she is fed and not starving and miserable when I’m at work!

The end of my maternity leave also means that I’ll be back in the KBF on a more regular basis. So look for some messages from me on our social channels.

Kelly Brush Ride

Of course, talking about summer just starting in mid-July means that the Kelly Brush Ride is under 2 months away! Even as we grow, this is the most important event of our year. I’m always blown away by how much of an iconic Vermont event this has turned into and the turnout every year. We’ll be engaging our KBF family more than ever this year and growing the Kelly Brush Golf Tournament teeing off at the same time (Saturday, September 7) and same place (the Ralph Myhre Golf Course at Middlebury College)!

Join us and register early. Pricing goes up on August 1. Click here to sign up!