After a decade and three seasons of attempting to snowboard, I am back on skis.... I know, I know what an entertaining thought! I am not what I would call the most coordinated or graceful individual, but somehow I manage.
There are two reasons (besides the fact that riding is really cool - cuz I'm still cool, right?) I have contemplated the thought of skiing or boarding:
1) To supervise.... There is something very unsettling about two six year olds traveling up the lifts and choosing from a multitude of trails all of varying degrees of difficulty.
2) I have taken all of the photos I can take of the boys on the bunny hill. And of course, the other shots that I have taken from the bottom of the runs are getting pretty monotonous, I have them all....
6YO at the bottom of the trail smiling He is smiling in there I know it
6YO at the bottom of the trail turning
6YO at the bottom of the trail as he flies by me.....
as you can imagine they go on and on, I literally have hundreds like these, no lie - I do.....
Okay, so we have two benefits of me skiing, however with those benefits come MAJOR drawbacks...
Positive- parental supervision
Negative- parental fear for the life of her beloved and precious children!
That's right, it seems that I did not realize how beneficial my ignorance really was. Having only been on the bunny hill in the last decade, I had forgotten how one gets to the top of the mountain..... I am enlightened now- now I have seen first hand- how short my 6YO is compared to the height of the chair lifts. I have seen the little 'hop' he has to take at just the right moment in order to get his butt up on the seat. I have seen 6YO and 10YO lean forward- hence down- to watch as the snow falls 50 feet to the ground from their boots...... Yes, I have a new phobias, and it is my children on chair lifts!!!
As if that was not bad enough, I have also seen my children, my beloved flesh and blood, race down the mountain without any regard to boundaries or speed 'limits.' Not that they are reckless, but they have no fear towards that which they feel capable, and let me tell you, it is so scary to watch. But yes, they are extremely capable -that still doesn't make it easy for a mom to watch!
That's a half pipe 6YO just jumped into... without me!!
Now I'm sure you're asking "why so many shots of 10YO, compared to 6YO?"This brings me to problem #2..... I CAN'T KEEP UP!
Yep, that's right they "swoosh" right on by me. No matter how much of a head start I get, they catch up, taunt, and then 'whoosh' they get as close as they possible can to me without running me over and then they are gone. I am left to ponder the fact that my children really are that much more athletic than I.
10YO wants pictures of his jumps and tricks, so he pulls over and waits for me or he does a 'do over' for me when I arrive. (I get great satisfaction out of him hop, hop, hopping back UP the mountain to redo a jump for the cameras, even if it is only a point and shoot!)
So, it's the end of the weekend, I have experienced an array of emotions and am left quite drained....
Excited that I got some new shots... Scared that my children will fall of the lift, side of the mountain, or hit a tree while skiing/riding... Terrified that I may orphan my children if I ever attempt to do an "easy" black diamond again.... (that's a great story to come later.... did you know there was a such thing as an 'easy' black diamond???? Yeah, well I didn't either but somehow I got suckered in, how hard could it really be??? my kids are going.....)
But most of all proud. Proud that my offspring have found a healthy past time to occupy them during the cold winter months. Proud that they have mastered a sport they enjoy! Proud when my kids come flying down the mountain and others around watch impressed by their talent and grace!
Now I just need to find a past time that will help take my mind off all of the risks I am subjecting them to every time they 'swoosh' away!
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