Man of My Dreams

Ben & I: 2002 Winter Olympics-Opening Ceremonies

I figure skated in the ceremonies,

Ben was a Zamboni-driver for the Olympic Committee.

To watch my group skate in the Olympic Ceremonies, click HERE.

I'm one of the silver skaters chasing the red Child of Light around in the beginning ( NOT in the white frisbee disks, and NOT the in the "hairy-trolls-on-stilts" group).

I just KNOW you'll enjoy it (especially the cool 80's electric guitar music that begins when the Fire Within shows up).

Jam-on!

* * * * *

You may think I'm crazy, but I'm about to tell a true tale.

I used to make fun of stories like this too....

...until it happened to ME!

* * * * *

I wish you could have known me in High School....

...and some of you did...

I was the quiet, shy, studious, awkward teenager. One time I was even referred to as an "Ugly Duckling" by someone at church. (Note: I wasn't asked out on my first date until after I turned 18.) It's true. A little embarrassing, but true. As a result, I was convinced that there was something wierd and unattractive about me (because, you know, that makes the most sense when you're a shy and awkward 14-year-old).

And then,

One night I had a dream.

During my dreamy slumber, I found myself at the ice rink (a place where I usually spent MOST of my time anyway). I was at the entrance to a beautiful sheet of perfect glass, but standing just off the ice and to the side. As I stood there, I looked to my right and found myself in the middle of a conversation with a guy. "What a cutie!" I thought, as my heart went pitter-patter. He looked out over the ice as he told me about his family and riding horses. I can remember the details to this very day. Most importantly, I can remember how he made me feel. He talked about working on a Ranch as we chatted through the night.

I woke up suddenly to Saturday morning.

It took a few minutes for the butterflies to leave my stomach after I opened my eyes. All I wanted to do was to go back to sleep and spend just 5 more minutes with this guy.

Instead, my 16 year-old mind soon brushed it off as just a silly dream. "Maybe it was a reflection of my love for the ice and figure skating," I concluded.

This attitude toward the dream was apparent as I dated in college. I never looked for that horse-riding guy from my dream. Instead, I found myself trying to go out with everyone ELSE. Oh, how I loved the quiet Computer Genius, the guitar-playing Poet, the analytical Business Major, the Portuguese Immigrant and the totally-cool Ski Bum.

There was one problem, though: They didn't love me back.

* * * * *

I was 23 when I started coaching for the Peaks Ice Arena in Provo, Utah. I had another job that paid the bills, I just worked for the rink in order to get free ice time. As a single girl, I moved to Utah because the Winter Olympics were scheduled to happen there in a couple of years. As a result, they were building some beautiful rinks. I decided that between my ability to speak French and to figure skate, there just HAD to be a way to get into the action.

One morning, I was asked to be an Ice Guard for a group of school kids who were coming to the rink during an Honor Roll field trip. I basically had to wear a bright orange jacket, carry a walkie-talkie, and make sure the kids weren't throwing snowballs at each other. If someone fell and hit their head, my job was to call the in-house EMT on my trusty walkie-talkie. It was a little different than the coaching sessions I was used to, but I thought it would be fun.

I decided to get there early and skate on an empty sheet for an extra (FREE) hour before the kids started to get there. Oh, what a beautiful morning! The rink was empty and silent (except for the musical sounds coming from my blades scratching the ice). There was a haze of fog resting on the surface as the lights reflected like a mirror.

Heavenly!

And then, after finishing a spin I noticed a dark sillouette I didn't recognize, watching me from next to the Skate Rental. There weren't may lights on out there, but I watched him watching me for about a half-hour until the bus pulled up and the kids started to pour in.

He ended up being the on-call EMT for the morning. I found out later that he was usually there at night, taking care of the bloodied-up hockey players. We had both worked there for FOUR months without ever crossing paths. For a while, I referred to him as "EMT guy" because I couldn't remember his name. (You would think that BEN would be a hard name to forget, but...whatever.)

Later in the session, I stood at the entrance to the sheet to check laces as kids came on and off the ice. (You'd be shocked by how many people try to get on the ice without lacing their skates!) With nothing else to do (and looking for a way to start a conversation), the "EMT guy" came over to help. We worked there, side-by-side, with our heads down most of the time lacing skate after skate after skate. We started to chat.

We took a break for a minute and stood up to talk. I asked him where he was from. "Alaska," he responded. He then started to tell me about his life and family "up North" as we looked out over the sheet filled with little skaters. He started to talk about being raised around horses, training them with his mom, and working on Ranches.

My heart started to pound as my head quickly turned to the right. I stared at him as he kept talking. My face dropped, my palms got sweaty and my stomach felt like it was in my throat.

I swallowed hard as I relived the dream I had been carrying around in the back of my memory for SO many years. Only this time, I actually gave him my phone number.

* * *

Quite a few people have emailed me and asked me to write more about our history (how we met, more about Ben's stroke, what brought us to farm life). WOW, that's a long story! I DO want to take the time and write it down since these writings WILL end up in a Blurb book for our kids and family to enjoy. It's going to take some time, though. I'll just start there and keep adding to it. Tune-in again if you're interested.