En Garde

Well, it looks like I'm going to start fencing again. It turns out there is a very active team here on campus, and they seemed enthusiastic to include me when I contacted them. It's odd though. It's been a very, very long time since I was deeply involved with the sport, and even longer since I did any tournament fencing (they want me to compete in two weeks). Furthermore, I can't help but feel that the 18 year old girl who wandered into a gym in Flagstaff seven years ago and thought, "Hey, this looks fun," is only sort of remotely connected to me, now. I did love many things about it -- fencing for hours on end until my arms were shaking and I couldn't lift my points off the ground, waking up the next day with that lop-sided sore feeling, or that random doctor who gave me a random physical before I went to England and asked, "Wow, what shoulders. Are you a swimmer?" My helpful reply, "No, I'm a fencer," and then, "Oh, that explains why the right side is so much bigger."

There are other things about that time of my life I don't miss, however, and have very thoroughly and deliberately left behind. Hopefully, taking it up again in an altogether different situation and place will me allow me to start now on a newly turned leaf, clean slate, fresh page, etc.