Skip to main content

Skiing lessons

Eleanor had a great time skiing. In the 4 days of ski school she had, she went from barely skiing the beginner slopes to doing the same things I am trying to do. Her instructor said that she falls down a lot, because "She skis near the edge." Hmm, wonder where she gets that from (hint: not her mother). This is the reason I am in favor of teaching kids to ski when they are young, instead of waiting until they are taller and creakier and less bouncy.

We decided not to give Amanda skiing lessons this year. She really didn't like the cold (she doesn't have an ounce of fat on her to keep her warm) and she doesn't quite understand that to stay warm she has to keep her mittens on and not touch the snow with her skin. There is a playground not far from where we were staying, so we went over to play the first day. Amanda insisted on sticking her mittened hands into the deep puffy snow, even when that caused her mittens to come off. Then she lost one of her boots in the snow and got her foot covered with snow. At this point she started crying and walking back to the condo by herself, counting on the fact that we would follow her. She's my southern girl.

Amanda did have one small ski adventure when Michael skied down the easy slope with her in his arms. When he got to the bottom, the people working said that technically, he wasn't supposed to do that but that Michael was the father... Amanda enjoyed skiing, so we'll probably try ski school when we go on our next ski vacation, whenever that is.

I had my own ski adventure when I went skiing with Michael. My goal in skiing is to ski beautifully and slowly, using proper technique. I want to look like a professional skier, but in slow motion. To do this I stay mostly on double green (advanced beginner) and single blue (intermediate) rated slopes. Michael and I had decided to ski down Magnolia, which looked like it had good scenery and wasn't too hard. When we got off the lift, I led the way, following the signs. Unfortunately, I forgot that to get to Magnolia the safe way, we had to ski down a section of Galloping Goose (a double green) in order to avoid the top of Magnolia (a double blue, advanced intermediate). Suffice it to say that I went down the slope sitting down, falling down, sliding down sideways... Finally (after a 7 year old went down in front of me) I remembered how to make "snowplow turns" and got down the hill. Something happens to me as I stand looking down a steep slope and I forget how to turn entirely due to the feeling of panic welling up inside of me. This hill was under a section of the lift, and every time we went over it I still couldn't believe that I had gotten down it---remembering, I am even now amazed that anyone skis down that type of hill without falling.

Luke didn't go skiing this time. I'm sure that he will have a good time keeping up with his sisters.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My hero, Helen Parr

Otherwise known as Elastigirl , a.k.a Mrs. Incredible. She is a stay at home mom ( SAHM ), she clearly feels that what she is doing is important and is willing to give up a lot to do it (remember her comment in the intro: "I'm at the top of my game! Leave saving the world to the guys? I don't think so.") But she is finding fulfillment in leading her family from day to day, in doing a hard job well. She also knows that she is very talented, and that knowledge helps her see beyond the repetitive drudgery of staying home. My favorite scene is from the deleted introduction, where she talks with a "career woman" who is of the opinion that staying home is fine for people who can't do anything else. She responds that taking care of her kid is at least as hard as saving the world, and is valuable contribution to society. The point for me is that someone has to do the job that I'm doing, and it's not something that you could pay someone to do. I see...
8 comments
Read more

Things that are true

"Axial tilt is the reason for the season." (Picture a globe with the northern hemisphere tilted away from the sun...) I believe this is meant to be an anti-theist slogan, although I would point out that I believe there is a reason for the axial tilt. This is a runner up to my favorite true science picture, the "Gravity Forecast." I linked to this when I was a graduate student, but the site is long since down. Picture a weather forecast graphic, but instead of clouds and temperatures, the 5-day forecast predicts 9.8 m/s^2 down. Even the idea still makes me laugh, perhaps I will reproduce it someday. Luke cut his 4th tooth today (Finally!). So far they haven't caused us too much trouble. We'll see what happens when he gets his canines.
8 comments
Read more

Why the world is frustrating

It is very frustrating to be 2. Michael and I have been teaching Luke about closing doors and turning off lights---both good habits. He really enjoys opening the refrigerator door. He knows how to turn out the light. But when I try to get him to shut the refrigerator door, he screams, "Turn out the light!" He keeps getting in the way of the door so that he can push the little button. As far as I know, he's trying to turn off the light before we shut the door, and the fact that it keeps coming back on when we move him out of the way so we can shut the door drives him crazy. He doesn't believe us that the light goes out when the door is shut, and after all, how do we know ourselves? We've never seen it, we use logic. But this makes any attempt to shut the door a battle, unless I sneak over there without him seeing.
5 comments
Read more