Last week my wife and I took our four kids snow skiing for their first time. I've been skiing since Christmas of 1991 as a 5th grader. My wife picked up skiing in high school. Skiing has been source of sweet times for my wife and I. We got to know one another during ski trips in college. In college, my buddies and i would invite random people to go skiing as a way to keep lodging costs low. One of these random people would later become my wife. We skied together throughout college and into our young married life. We honeymooned in Jackson Hole, took a winter pilgrimage to Big Sky and even tried our hands at Lake Placid. Some of our fondest memories as a couple and with friends are with ski slopes in the background. Then when we had children we just stopped skiing. This source of joy and adventure got put aside. We thought we would pick it up when the kids were "old enough." Fast forward 9 years, my wife and I get the chance of a lifetime to go to New Mexico to ski with friends. Even in the midst of a historic drought leaving the snowfall at an all time low, we still had a blast. The romance with skiing was sparked. Then a few weeks later I got to go Vail with a dear friend for a week of skiing. My passion for skiing was re-ignited! But.....going with the kids seemed like a burden. Sharing this thing that their parents love seemed like so much work. They would get cold, they would fuss, its expensive, they make not like it, the boots are uncomfortable....the excuses went on and on.
Then in January of this year, my wife and I said we are doing it. We have to try. We are taking the kids skiing. As the day of our trip approached I had a mixture of anxiety and excitement. I wanted to go skiing and I wanted them to ski. I wanted them to like skiing so much that I was fearful that they wouldn't. So fearful that I almost canceled the trip because the risk of them not enjoying skiing would have been to much to bear. Luckily my wife was committed so we packed up the car and went.
The kids had a wonderful time. They had one lesson the first day (which meant the wife and I got to ski alone!) and were ready to explore the mountain. We skied the second day as a family. We picked each other up when we fell. We laughed at each other. We celebrated minor victories together! We talked about life in a way that we never would have from home. We shared an experience!
It all started just by going. There is never an ideal time. Work never takes a break. Going with young kids will never be easy, or convenient. Just go and see what happens. Go with an open mind. Go looking for adventure. Just GO.....
