Sharing the slopes with your kids

Through no special magic, both my children were born in October which meant they would be put on skis the first winter following their first birthday. Now really, I'll be honest, it was more about getting them used to the snow and cold and not really about making turns, yet. It has given us all great pride to be able to claim their early introduction to skiing at the age of sixteen months. Now I have two grown children who love the alpine environment like I do...one is a snowboarder and the other a skier/snowboarder. It totally doesn't matter. I feel one of my greatest accomplishments of adulthood has been to pass my love of skiing onto my kids. It certainly wasn't easy or cheap but was worth every minute of dragging kids into ski school (can I just skip today and ski with you?) and packing up all the necessary gear (yes, it is true, I forgot my daughter's parka once and arrived at Ragged Mt in need of an immediate purchase). Now I ski with my kids as friends...for a little bit because they soon leave me in their snow dust. My daughter says I am "slow and steady and winning the race...meaning still skiing while many of my age-mates have stopped. My son, the eternal ski coach, continues to encourage me to ski like I'm on the World Cup tour. I am just content to ski. It's great when we ride the lift together and chat. It's also great when we have those side by side turns and then, they're off at a speed that matches their skill. As I watch them take off ahead of me, I smile, knowing I've done my job. I slice through my series of crafted turns, humming to myself and I see them waiting a few hundred feet ahead. I push harder to reach them and I am greeted "Good job, Mom, let's go..." and it's off again. Yes, I know I have done my job.

On the Eve of Christmas Eve

Truth be told, I am a Christmas and winter fanatic. I have my own theories about this. Being born in Dixon, Illinois on Christmas Eve in 1951 guaranteed that I would love Christmas. In spite of what people think, a birthday near Christmas is wonderful...especially Christmas Eve. I have never gone to school or worked on my birthday and so far, I am always with my kids on my birthday.  The world is decorated and people are gathering with friends and family. Wow, what a deal. Yes, I have received the occasional "dual Christmas - Birthday present" and it is tough to get birthday cards when everyone is sending Christmas cards, but these are minor. I love my birthday and tomorrow is a big one...my last year in the 50s. Fine with me. I totally don't define myself by the number assigned to my " trips around the sun." Instead, I focus on what I have done, and received and experienced and am still longing to do. That is living and it is what I am doing, with gratitude for my health. And this brings me to winter. I love the cold air and the smell of winter. Anyone who knows me knows I am a true beach bum but give me a snowy winter day and I feel energized. Luckily, I was introduced to skiing at about age 12. My introduction to skiing came via my brother who got hooked on skiing through a church ski trip. Our parents were not skiers so we didn't grow up on skis like my kids did. But I liked it enough to go any chance I had, whether it was a day trip or a school trip. I took any opportunity to go skiing and even took it as a physical education class in college. Now, in my late 50s, I am proud to say I continue to love skiing. I'm no hot rod, I like a nicely carved turn I can enjoy rather than speed through. I enjoy the ride and as my daughter says, I'm slow but steady winning the race...the race being just to keep skiing. Next year, for my BIG 60 and that will be a biggie, I'll be skiing in Switzerland in Engleberg where I skied in 2002. I set this goal about five years ago and next year at this time, I'll be packing for that trip. My friends and family are all invited to join the fun. We'll get a good group rate and it is the perfect spot for a European ski trip. So, stay healthy and happy and enjoy the life that comes your way. It's just another trip around the sun and everyone should enjoy their ride. Peace to all and Merry Christmas.

Here's to a magical ski season.

It is somewhat a religious experience to take your first and last run of the season alone reflecting on your inner thoughts and private feelings. Yesterday I found myself at the top of Mount Tecumseh, aka Waterville Valley, New Hampshire, about to push off for my first run of the 2010-11 ski season. Not having met up with my friends, I would just take a run alone and find them later. That's when it occurred to me that a solo run would be the best start to my season. And so with a few thoughts in my brain and thanksgiving in my heart, I thought about two skiers whose time on the hill was cut too short...my brother who took me skiing when I was a teenager and basically set me on the course of lifelong skiing and Mitch Kaplan, a fellow ski writer and gracious intellect who was the best writer I ever knew personally. Dedicating this first run to them, I pushed off into perfectly whipped snow with no one before me, only the winter landscape. As I turned hard to the left and dipped down onto the flat of Oblivion, my eyes caught two perfect prisms of light overhead side by side. Not rainbows but two parallel matching lines of perfect color spectrum just above in the blue sky where a few white clouds danced. Ahh, of course, I thought, they knew and I knew. Here's to them, here's to me and here's to my ski season that is ahead. To quote Tiny Tim, "God Bless us everyone."  Here's to the magic in your life too wherever you find it.