Training for Shasta with Soccer...of all things

Soccer has become my saviour recently, providing the same sort of peace I find in the mountains. I started playing soccer when I was 6 years old and played every year until I was 24.  I unfortunately stopped playing soccer for about 15 years, until last year when I rediscovered the game and my love for it.  Soccer is something I do for me right now, and it is providing some great exercise as I train for climbing Mount Shasta in June with the Breast Cancer Fund's Climb Against the Odds.

  In Essex County, MA soccer was blowing up in the early 1980's and the communities there benefited in ways beyond anticipation.  This was a sport that welcomed both boys and girls from a young age and this was a new concept.  Unlike T-Ball, for which I made history as the first girl in my town to play and for which my father lost friends over, soccer was welcoming to all.  

Pretty sure I'm wearing Toughskins here, circa 1980. 

# 00, position: (way, way) Left Field

Suddenly, soccer was all I did.  There was a fall league, a spring league, and summer soccer camp at the local community college and eventually an indoor field was built on top of a hockey rink not far from home.  This was the jackpot for parents all over New England in childcare and exercise for their children.  By the time I was in middle school I was playing with all girls, and that was when I fell in love with the sport.  Looking back as I made my re-entry to the sport, I realize now that what I loved about the game most was how we brought out the best in each other as a team.  We laughed at our own mistakes but we were committed to improvement, and we encouraged each other, even when it didn't benefit us directly at the time.  We loved to see each other succeed individually and as a team and most of all, we loved to play the game of soccer.  

I played throughout high school and eventually landed at Unity College in Maine.  I discovered that the men's soccer team had a female goalie and realized I could play too.  After a season with the men, the coach approached me about starting a women's team.  This light a fire under me like I never imagined.  We recruited every woman on campus we could find and somehow pulled together a club team on a campus with NOT a lot of women.  It was the best season of soccer I ever had. The camaraderie was instant, the commitment was infectious and history was made.  The next year the team went intercollegiate.  I'm not sure I've felt that kind of accomplishment since.

Last summer I started playing soccer in Sandwich, NH where I now call hone, on Sunday mornings.  I was quickly reminded of what an intense workout soccer is.  Thankfully I had been running and hiking and each week it got easier to keep up.  The atmosphere in the town of Sandwich, NH on the soccer field is unmatched.  Most everyone who comes out to play is there for the fun of playing the game.  And every year during the Sandwich Fair the town plays the fair workers which is the highlight of the season.  

Sandwich, NH

Sandwich Fair

Since outdoor games came to an end around Thanksgiving when the field got covered in snow and ice, I was lucky enough to discover indoor soccer at Tilton Sports Center and signed up in a co-ed league as a free agent.  My team met on the first night we had a game, all having signed up as free agents.  I quickly discovered my teammates were fantastic.  Again, we are all there for fun and supporting and encouraging other to play the best game we can is part of that fun.  Getting older does have some benefits including caring less about winning and being able to laugh at yourself more...there's no shortage of that in Tilton.

Tilton Sports Center, Tilton NH.

Co-Ed League Night

No walls in Tilton

Women's Night 

After Session I at Tilton Sports Center, a women's night was added along with Session II of the leagues.  This has been the best addition to soccer for me in the past year.  I LOVE playing with women.  I've been taken right back to my middle school days with the giggles and encouragement, support and joy of the game.  Women's night has rounded out my soccer experience.  I am grateful there are enough women to keep the night alive and that they are all enthusiastic and talented athletes in so many different ways. We have so much fun!  These women are also beautiful and unique and all bring something special to the field.  I am hoping women's night continues at Tilton Sports Center.

As I continue to train for Mount Shasta in a physical sense, I am also taking on emotional challenges in everyday life.  Soccer takes me away from those challenges and poses its own.  I look forward to the challenges I meet on Mount Shasta, but until then, soccer (particularly on women's night) is where I will find my peace of mind and encouragement for the challenges along the way.

SAVE THE DATE-April 25th Fundraising Event at the Local Grocer 5-8pm!

Friday April 25th

Fundraising Event for my 

Climb Against the Odds!

@ The Local Grocer & Be Well Studios

in North Conway, NH

3358 White Mountain Highway
North Conway, NH 03860

5 – 8 pm | $20 Entry Donation

Please join us for this fun way start to your weekend!

Your donation includes local food, beverages, 

 & music by Shelburne Addition, a silent auction, 

and mini spa and holistic health services by local vendors. 

Services include mini facials, chair 

massage, card readings, psychic readings, 

reiki and more. 

This event will support my efforts to 

raise $10,000 for my climb of Mount Shasta in 

June 2014 as a Breast Cancer Fund’s Climb 

Against the Odds team member. 

April 25 event tickets can be bought at The Local Grocer the night of the event.  Food, services & music will be offered throughout the event.  Drinks will end around 7pm and the silent auction winners will be presented with their item shortly after.

 Local climber Paul Cormier has generously gathered his musical friends from the north country to entertain us at this event!

Shelburne Addition will be playing live throughout the event!

Local Grocer event food spread.
This will be a ZERO waste event!  Any needed composting will be provided by Mountain Flower Farm. 
All food, drinks & services will be from local vendors.

Local Grocer Deli & Cafe

Juice Bar

Yoga Class at Be Well Studios

Heather & Russ are the owners of the Local Grocer & Be Well Studios and incredibly generous supporters of this event!

The Local Grocer is owned and operated by Heather Chase and Russell Van Deursen. Both are avid gardeners and passionate about issues of local food, the environment, permaculture and natural living.   Heather’s background as a Clinical Herbalist and Holistic Nutritional Consultant combined with her extensive work experience in the food service industry in the Valley has prepared her for the multi-faceted role as business owner of The Local Grocer.  When Russ isn’t making the best cookies in town or creating delicious raw chocolate desserts he is using his skills as a permaculture designer at their home, Mountain Flower Farm.  Vegetables, herbs, and grass-fed meat from the farm are sold in the market and a four season greenhouse is in the works.

http://www.nhlocalgrocer.com/

For more information on this event or my fundraising efforts please contact me, 

Cristin Bailey

 at cristinbailey@gmail.com 

or 603-986-2645

I am looking for some volunteers to help with this event.  Let me know if you are interested!  I will also be soliciting donations for the silent auction so let me know if you have ideas.

Looking forward to seeing you there, Bailey

Ruby Rain

Ruby Rain was born on Christmas Eve 2004.  She was strong in my belly and I knew she was full of spirit from the very beginning.  I knew I'd have a girl.  Women are plentiful in my family.  What I didn't expect was that part of me would be reborn along with her.  As soon as I was pregnant I got my girly-girl back I always say.  I thought it was gone for good being a full-time trail worker at that point in life and not finding time to care about girly things much anymore.  It was as if Ruby brought it along with her when she came through me.  I suddenly wanted everything pink and started painting my toenails again.  I began embracing the most womanly part of myself as me, right along side the trail worker.  

I am guilty of reinventing myself again and again but having Ruby helped my find my true self once and for all; trail girl, girly-girl, fashonista, mother, sister, faithful friend, whatever I wanted to be.  I always tell Ruby what is great about being a woman is that we can have it all.  We can be cute and tough, we say.  Ruby is tough and cute alright.  She's excelling in school, she skis, she climbs, she does trail work and stacks firewood and she does it all with contagious, girly cuteness.  Ruby loves her mama too.  We have a special bond as so many mothers and daughters do.  

Ruby is now nine years old, right about the same age I was when my grandmother was first diagnosed with breast cancer.  I think about this often as I prepare for Climb Against the Odds in honor of my grandmother.  I think about the connections I had at Ruby's age and what it meant to me as a child.  Connecting with Ruby has been an incredible experience.  She is my biggest supporter and most loyal friend.  Her love and affection have guided me as a mother and guides me now every day as I train for Mount Shasta.  In preparing for my climb, Ruby has encouraged me to embrace this experience in every way possible.  She knows what it is like to lose family, she has in her short life already. Ruby is protective of my emotions and wants to help me along my journey to Mount Shasta.  She pays attention to every detail and makes suggestions about how to share our story.  Whose idea do you think this post was? She's my girl alright.

Being a mother is such an honor, especially with a daughter like Ruby but it's not all easy.  We want to protect our children from the feelings that we had when we were young that scared us as my mother and grandmother for me, especially during my grandmother's battle with breast cancer.  We want our children to feel safe and happy and loved all the time.  Feeling safe in the care of my mother and grandmother are some of the most comforting memories from childhood for me.  Making children feel perfectly safe all the time however is not truly possible nor is it always the best course.  I try to help Ruby understand the things in life that are hard when she faces them and how to cope so she has the skills to do so on her own.  I am lucky to share this responsibility with Ruby's dad, who is the best father I could ever wish for her.  We are a team and a family and we love our little girl.  We are thrilled with the person she has become and she continues to surprise and delight us as her own amazing person.  Most of all, I am impressed with how fiercely loyal and caring Ruby is with her family.  That is a known trait on my mother's side of the family for certain and it is enlightening to see this trait come through my own daughter.  Ruby makes me feel hopeful and proud every day.  She comforts me in all she does and I know she will do well in this scary world.  I am so proud of her.  Of all the things in my life that I have to guide me, she is a true role model.  I was lucky at her age to have the love and company of the women in my family.  As an adult, I value the love and company of my own daughter and never anticipated the guidance she would provide for me. 

Ruby Rain, you are a true angel.  Grammy Tibbetts would have loved to see you grow into the strong, independent girl you are.  And I think she'd see some of herself in you.  I certainly do.

Grammy's Strength

I sat with my mother recently to recall her experiences during the period my grandmother battled breast cancer.  So much is fuzzy for me since I was just eight years old when she was diagnosed. I asked my mom some questions about what she recalls during Grammy’s diagnosis and I was absolutely stunned to realize how much more than the cancer Grammy faced.  As an adult now, I can’t imagine how difficult this was.

What would you want someone close to you to know about Grammy’s experience if they were diagnosed today?  How strong she was.  Grammy & Grampy did not share Grammy’s diagnosis with anyone until after her 1st surgery (radical mastectomy).

What would you have done differently today?  Call you and your sisters and have you surround me.  I didn't always see Grammy’s strength.  I would need you to help me rally my own strength. Grammy just continued her life.  

Life went on after Grammy’s diagnosis. In April of 1982 Grammy had just barely recovered from her 1st mastectomy.  This is when Grampy told my mom about the cancer. Typically Grammy & Grampy were in Naples, FL from Columbus Day to Memorial Day.  That year they came to MA from FL in April because Grammy’s mother, my Great-Grammy Cutting, was ill.  They flew from FL to MA and settled back in, helping with Grammy Cutting through May and into June.  

That June Grampy Tibbetts had a massive heart attack.  After a short time in intensive care he was expected to fully recover.  My mother was at work when the power went out.  She took it as a sign and went to visit him despite his optimistic diagnosis.  My mom visited my grandfather, told him she loved him and she left.  He died the next day. 

The memory that stuck with my mother was how strong Grammy was surrounding Grampy's death.  She took Grammy shopping because Grammy insisted she needed a dress for Grampy’s funeral.  They went to her favorite store Empire in Gloucester, MA.  Grammy typically made her own clothes, particularly for an occasion this important, and my mom recalls the experience to be unsatisfying but at the same time therapeutic for Grammy.  Grammy went home that night and made a dress for the services after all.  Mom recalls walking on Long Beach with her mother shortly after the funeral to get some air.  Grammy told my mom that that morning she had seen the most spectacular sunrise and she felt Grampy was with her.  Mom went for a drive around Cape Ann after the funeral to clear her head.  She stopped in a cove and watched the most spectacular sunset of her life.  She felt this was Grampy telling her everything was going to be ok too.

A week after Grampy’s funeral I was a flower girl in my mom’s friend’s wedding.  In typical form, Grammy whipped up a dress for me seemingly overnight.  She sat in front of her sewing machine all day at the beach making the dress.  This was how she coped, but the struggle didn't stop there. Just a month later, Grampy’s brother Warren Tibbetts Sr. passed away.  And that August, Grammy’s mother, my Great Grammy Cutting died also. I was 8 years old.

Grammy went back to FL in September, early.  My mom recalls taking her to the airport early in the morning.  At that time you could still go to the gate.  My mom was a wreck but Grammy seemed fine. She wanted to return to her Florida family, the community of peers she has built with Grampy.  As Grammy walked down the ramp my mother approached a stewardess to please watch her; that she had been through a lot recently. It was a whirlwind summer, full of loss and it was hard for my mom to let her go but she has three young girls, two jobs and night school to attend.  Life went on for everyone.

Four years later, the cancer returned.  My mom went to FL shortly after Grammy had her second mastectomy.  Grammy insisted on staying in FL and not returning to MA to be near family despite repeated requests from her children.  My mom felt she had to be with her despite Grammy insisting she was fine and had friends to care for her.  The second time my mom went to FL was Mother’s Day 1987.  My mom brought her back to MA after a very emotional goodbye with her friends.  Grammy knew she might not see them again.

Grammy stayed at the beach in Rockport, MA when she returned.  Long Beach was a therapeutic place for everyone.  My mom and her brothers took turns staying with her at the cottage.  Grammy eventually took a turn for the worst and was moved to my Uncle Harris and Aunt Esther’s in Swampscott, MA until it became too difficult for everyone.  She was transferred to the hospital and became very weak. My mom recalls doing some reading for school while sitting with Grammy in the hospital when she realized her mother was not eating any of the meals the nurses were delivering.  She told them to stop bringing food.  Grammy was in hospice at this time and my mom recalls the moment Grammy passed.  Her brothers Peter and Harris were there with her. Grammy was at a point where she was not really speaking anymore.  Grammy signaled for my mom to come close and she managed to say three words: “I love you”.  Later she passed, surrounded by her children.

What I find most interesting about doing the Climb Against the Odds now is that my daughter is the same age as I was during Grammy’s battle with cancer.  My mother is the same age Grammy was. And I am about the same age as my mother was then, now.  This is all helping me better understand what it means to be the matriarch in a family.  I see how strong Grammy was as well as my mother during this time especially and it makes me realize my own strength.  It is comforting to see the successes within the struggles we've had and how it makes us stronger.  I feel it is such gift to have the strength of these women in my life.  

Grammy’s battle with breast cancer was one of courage and grace.  This climb is about celebrating that aspect of her experience.  I share this with you with the hope that it can inspire you too to be strong in all you face.  Along with strength, gratitude is another gift I take from this reflection with my mom.  I am grateful to have known Grammy and to have felt her love as a child.  And as an adult, I take from this a new appreciation for where my personal courage was born.  

Thank you Grammy!  Thank you Mom!

Helen Tibbetts

1917-1987

Herbal Assistance all the way from Alabama!

Support comes in all shapes and sizes!  My dear friend Summer sent me some of her handcrafted herbal products to support my climb and training.  I am feeling so loved and supported!  I am so excited to share her website and blog with you.  Her timing is amazing since I am dealing a damaged tendon in my ankle and a partially torn hamstring not to mention I was just hit by a 7-day flu.  Summer generously sent me Athletic Balm, Healing Balm and Lip Balm.  Check it out!  Thank you Summer!

The Athletic balm has in it: Organic Comfrey and Plantain infused in Organic Cold Pressed Olive Oil for six weeks. Then melted together at low heat with Shea Butter, Jojoba Oil, Beeswax and mixed with Organic Lavender, Rosemary, Peppermint, and Eucalyptus Essential Oils.

Lavender Balm has all the same with only Lavender essential oil in it.

Lip Balm is the same with a higher content of beeswax to keep it solid.

All the balms a good for healing small cuts, bruises, aches, chapped skin, rashes, and more!
Made in small batches in my home with great attention to detail and a touch of handcrafted love added.

Mothering Herbs is a small business committed to helping women and families help themselves with herbs for the pregnancy year and beyond. Founded in 2008, Mothering Herbs is a combination of mother and daughter effort.

Mothering Herbs website:  http://motheringherbs.com/

Find Mothering Herbs on Facebook and learn more.
Update 2/26/2014!  Summer McCreless via Mothering Herbs

Congratulations to my friend Cristin Bailey for reaching her 50% mark on raising funds in her Climb Against the Odds 2014. To help her along I am giving her 25% of all sales from March 1st-10th. Mention CLIMB to send her support!

Find up-to-date workshop and product info on their blog:
http://www.motheringherbs.com/Blog/hello-world/ 

Summer Ware McCreless manages the website and facebook page, orders, makes the infused oil and balms, mixes the herbal tea blends, organizes and teaches workshops, classes, consultations and in-home workshops and grows herbs in Wolf Springs, AL.

Summer McCreless
of Mothering Herbs

¡Féliz Año Nuevo!

Pico de Orizaba

Happy New Year!  As I enter 2014 and prepare for my Climb Against the Odds, I have been reflecting on my introduction to mountaineering.  In December of 1995 and January of 1996, myself and a handful of students went to climb a few of Mexico's volcanoes with Colorado Mountain College.  It was an Introduction to Mountaineering class, the first of its kind for the school's brand new Outdoor Recreation Program.  A young couple from Leadville, CO were brought on as adjunct professors to lead this course.  On the first day of class they pitched the trip to Mexico to us.  We were all stunned, yet thrilled at the possibility.  We'd drive from campus in Leadville at 10,000+ feet, already acclimatized, and head to Mexico with the intention of climbing Popocatépetl ("Popo") -17,802, Iztaccíhuatl ("Ixta")-17,342 and Orizaba-18,701.

After preparing all fall semester, we spent a couple of days driving through Texas and Mexico heading south shortly after Christmas.  We discovered during our travels that Popo was getting increasingly active and to add insult to injury it had snowed near the peak for the first time in over 20 years.  The locals were celebrating but we were facing difficult logistics.  This changed our itinerary.  We had planned to climb Popo and Ixta first, then try for Orizaba but with the situations near Popo we headed for Orizaba first instead.  So we travelled to Senor Reyes' old soap factory turned climber hostel  We sorted gear and set up a jeep ride to the hut at the base of Orizaba at about 14,000 feet.  We hit snow however, and had to hike to the hut which was uncommon.

Popo & Ixta

Senor Reyes' Soap Factory

End of the Jeep Ride

Route Up Orizaba

We spent a night in the hut and went for the summit around midnight.  We climbed at this hour because conditions were safest and easiest i.e. firm.  We took the most commonly travelled route.  I recall my friends dragging me up there in spirit although I wanted to bail.  This was harder than I had anticipated despite many warnings. We had "trained" for this trip by learning basic mountaineering techniques back in Leadville; self-arrest, crampon use, rope team etiquette, etc.  We had also evolved as a team.  Being the only female student was challenging for me but when push came to shove on this climb it was one guy in particular who really talked be through the mental challenges.  He made me truly believe I could do it.  I was not in the best shape of my life, in fact I was a heavy smoker at the time.  At this altitude, my smoker's lungs and out of shape legs were very apparent.  I wanted to give in to my body's failing attempt at this summit but the pep talk from that fellow student helped me discover my inner strength.

One student got pretty sick from altitude early in our summit bid and was escorted back to the hut.  We were all sad to leave him behind. Another got very sick mid-climb and had to head down with one of the instructors.  We saw most of the things we had discussed could happen during a climb like this but somehow most of us made it to the summit.  I made it out with an 18,000+ foot peak under my belt but it cost me toe bang from swelling feet, frostbite on my toes for the same reason and sun poisoning.  Later in the trip a handful of students made it up Ixta but I had to stay behind for the damages I incurred on Orizaba.

On this journey we learned ¡Féliz Año Nuevo! was the spanish translation of Happy New Year.  Every New Year I need to say this to myself.  This trip changed me and this celebratory exclamation reminds me of it.

As I prepare for Mount Shasta I am reminded of all I learned on my trip to the volcanoes in Mexico.  That trip was more than a few years ago and I am in a very different place in my life than I was then.  I am sure I will be challenged in new and different ways whether it be physical and/or emotional.  Whatever challenges I face, I will face them with people who have faced breast cancer either personally or through friends and family. The team aspect of Mount Shasta is sure to be a powerful experience.  I look forward to pulling from each other's strengths and supporting each other through our own individual weaknesses.  The Climb Against the Odds will by incredibly symbolic.  I can't wait to look back on it and reflect on all that it will do for me in the same way I look back on Mexico.

¡Féliz Año Nuevo!