Alright, so I haven't been officially diagnosed, but sometimes the shoe does fit-hard to believe, I know. ;-)

In order to accomplish what we do as a team, we all have to be quite driven, innovative, unrealistically optimistic and perhaps, well, a bit nutty!

Petter Solberg's charge to second at the past weekend's Rally GB and third overall in the 2010 WRC is testament to what us rallyists are made of. He revealed today that he's seen his family very little in the last year-and-a-half and paid for the last couple rallies out of his own pocket. Talk about driven!

This is the time of year that we try and make amends to our family for tilting at rally windmills in the Eastern forests of the US and Canada.

Truth be told, it's a painful realization that we can never get that time back. Missed sports games, family dinners, opportunities to socialize. We could be in the service rig headed to Missouri or across the border to Canada.

As crazy as it all is, it becomes normalized over time. When the default for Fourth of July is being at Rallye Baie des Chaleurs, and Thanksgiving is Rally of the Tall Pines, you know you've been bit by the bug....hard.

So, what have we been doing lately!? Here at Triple Caution Farm, T-4 has not been off the trailer since Rallye Defi in September. She'll have to come off soon if we're to get her sorted for Rallye Perce Neige.

In the mean time, Bronson and I cleaned the shop and Sharon and I painted the floor. A thorough cleaning(still not done) and reorganization was undertaken. We completed(nearly) the home gym to help keep the family fit and me driving for a few more years. We got a large ash tree sawn up and to the kiln to make some cool electric guitars. My wife drove my Forester into the garage door(both ok, the wife moreso) after starting it in gear trying to warm it for me on a cold morning.

We cut, split and stacked some firewood. We've been doing interior household projects(never done) in preparation for Holiday guests. I've been sorting through stacks of magazines and mail that have piled up while I was off doing other things. I got a new road bicycle and actually got out on it this past weekend. We've all been going to the gym. Oh yeah, I've been working full time as well providing health care in two homeless healthcare clinics in the Bangor area.

And this is just my family. Bronson continues to work on Mass-spect machines, Dave is always pushing at his job at Maine Boats, Harbors and Home Magazine. Duncan and Mike juggle work, family and life. Drew and his wife just bought a house. DrewG juggles all the calls from friends to fix stuff and Nate spends time on projects either at home or at work at Old Town Canoe.

There is no stopping the change of season in Maine. The dreaded lack of sun, the change in the clocks and the impending cold weather. Not to mention barreling full speed into the Holidays. There is an unrelenting urgency to get the yard cleaned up, the snowblower on the tractor, the driveway markers set out, wood stacked and drafty windows sealed up.

What keeps us from going insane?! Family and friends. Simple and true. I'm convinced our Holiday season was laid out by someone who lived in a climate like ours and needed an excuse for a party/gathering every month to lift the spirits. ;-)

Working in the shop, wind whistling outside with a punch list and cocoa available just across the driveway, iPod shuffling through thousands of tunes is one of the best coping mechanisms we have.

In a recent phone conversation with Dave, we discussed whether or not we wanted to head to Perce Neige(or course we do, but it's never that easy). He said, "We'll need some mid-winter therapy by then."

The dopamine rush that we get careening down roads flanked by 4 foot snowbanks might just last us until spring thaw.....