I spent many hours on the slopes, falling on my face, bruising parts of my body that I needed to stay healthy, twisting things that should be straight and seeing the ground from the bottom up. Eventually I got to a place where I was comfortable on any run, and came to love the sport. Every year I got excited by the first snowfall, and felt a tingle when it flurried in early December.
This year was off to a great start, as the winter was cold and the snow fell, and yet, today was the first day I even looked at my board, sitting in its rack, where it has been all year. My son even asked why I had two boards and then he followed it up by saying, "Are they for different conditions?" (I've never been so proud of that boy.)
So what did I do this winter?
I spent a lot of time with the guys. We shoveled and built fires. I watched them collect sticks for the fire, as they crept through snow covered evergreen trees and built forts under the canopy of snow. They helped me hang the Christmas lights, none of which matched but still made them excited every time we pulled up to the house. And they learned the enjoyment of traipsing in the snow to go to the bakery for lunch followed by a ice cream dessert.
I couldn't
have asked for a better winter.Maybe next
year will find me back on the slopes, with the boys tethered to me on the bunny hill while I am teaching them about my favorite winter activity, or maybe we will practice the fine art of snowman building followed by a snowball fight.