Why Ski?

I probably should stop skiing because I’ve blown out each of my knees skiing.  But I will still plan yearly ski trips because Brad loves it and has an ease on the hill that our sons, Gage and Cole, have inherited.  He makes skiing look effortless and fun, and the boys hurtle along with him with varying degrees of control, but full-throttle glee.

We used to play a game when the kids were little.  We would grab a hot chocolate and watch for Brad to ski down to us.  Cole might point to a skier in a non-fashionable jacket who turned out to be someone else in a non-fashionable jacket.  Then Gage would point to someone else.  Maybe . . . nope.  Finally:  “That’s him!”  Brad is so recognizable on the slope, not because he won’t buy a new jacket, but because he’s got a serpentine pattern whose grace Will Ferrell would envy.

Skiing gets everyone outside and radiant with exhaustion.  It’s not just the kids who leave the electronics behind, it’s the father, too, who works too many hours on a computer.  Brad’s no workaholic because he hates working.  But he does take good care of his clients.  Skiing is a great release for him.  Important as anything else, the boys will be confident skiers.  When we moved to Texas, I thought I could avoid the skiing that caused me so much embarrassment in Minnesota, but that turned out not to be true.  Knowing how to ski well, the boys won’t ever have to hope to get the flu to stay off the slopes.