Sunday, February 22, 2009

There... They... Go...




We've been pretty good about getting the girls up on skis at least a few times each of the last three or four winters, which is saying something since Madison will be 8 next month and Ava just turned 6. Like everything else, we started off slow. Couple of lessons a season, half a day in a kids' program that included time on the bunny slopes and inside the lodge having something they called lunch and working on a generic craft project.

First few installments we actually stood outside and watched them ski the whole time, taking pictures and video. At some point we felt comfortable enough to spend the lesson or the program in the relative comfort and warmth of the bar, drinking hot cocoa and Magic Hat and witnessing the little dose of snowbound training through the window. We pushed ourselves to make it happen, and by the end of last year Madison actually went up on the lift with an instructor and turned up at the bottom of the mountain, smiling, unscathed and wanting to go back up again.

We were in Vermont between Christmas and New Year's, and by then Madison's practice sessions were all lifts and beginning trails, she had completely left the safety of the little "learning zone" and its tow ropes behind. Ava's last run that trip followed a ride up on the lift, and even though she flew down the mountain out of control for the last 100 feet or so and ended with an epic wipeout, once the tears subsided she was game for more. It was becoming clear that one of us was going to have to get back on skis, if only for the kids, and that moment arrived on Thursday.

We were up with my parents, my sister and her son, and when the girls wrapped their 12 to 1 p.m. lessons Dad was there to greet them - on skis and ready to go. Madison was fighting off a fever and had not been feeling well, but she gamely went on and we took to the lift. Had a couple of great runs, I could not believe how well she handled the trail and stayed in control, even under the weather. We hit the base after the second run and Ava was there with Gwen and asked me to take her up on the lift. "No," was my immediate reaction, I remembered Christmas Week and did not want to get her in over her head. But she persisted in her demands, and Madison needed a hot chocolate break anyway, so up we went.

And it was unbelievable. She fell a few times on that first run, but got right back up and we made it down. I asked if she wanted to go again and got a no-hesitation yes, so we did. Zero falls that next run. Up and down three more times and it was all terrific. We shifted to a more advanced lift for the last run of the day and a slightly longer and bumpier trail and it was a mistake - nightmare descent with several falls and tears, mainly out of frustration. It was not the way to end a learning day but unfortunately our day had to end there.

Friday it snowed - heavy blanketing snow. Gwen took the girls ice skating with my sister and nephew and I went shopping for dinner food. By Saturday morning the clouds were gone and had turned into beautiful blue skies and fresh snow. Madison was still sick and in no shape to spend a day on the mountain. I asked Ava whether or not she wanted to go skiing with me and got an immediate yes. So Gwen and Maddie dropped us off before going into town for some outlet shopping, and Ava and I had what was, without a doubt, the most enjoyable day of skiing of my life. Nothing else even comes close.

Three or four runs down the starter trails just to get going, then I asked if she wanted to go to that longer lift - the scene of Thursday's last-run breakdown - and she said she did. Went down that time without falling, went back again later and just experienced a few baby tumbles. At some point she said she was cold and asked if we could go inside for a hot cocoa in the lodge. We did, although I knew that was going to be trouble later on.

Back outside for another few runs and then I experienced the nightmare moment for any father alone with a 6-year-old daughter - especially on a ski mountain - "Daddy, I have to go potty." I briefly considered trying to reach Gwen on the cell phone to see if she was within 25 miles of our location and able to come facilitate the request, but ultimately decided to man up and deal with the situation at hand.

We went into the lodge, found the Men's room and took a deep breath near the door. I picked Ava up and asked her to close her eyes, which she did. Pushed open the door and made a B-LINE for the handicapped stall, which mercifully enough was available. This is in ski boots and full winter gear, mind you. Ava started talking to me in the stall and I was answering in whispers and she asked why. I said because we were in the MEN'S ROOM, and she whispered back, "does that mean we're going to get in trouble?" "No, we're not going to get into trouble," I responded. "Let's just go potty."

Mission accomplished and after saying, "Don't touch ANYTHING" about a dozen times, I picked her up, asked her to again close her eyes and flew out of the room. Back on the slopes for another few runs before we were ready to wrap things up and called Gwen for a pick-up. Even with the potty break, it was an amazing day skiing with my 6-year-old, Ava, a great payoff after all those lessons, trips back and forth to the mountain, equipment and encouragement. And it's only the beginning.


7 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sounds like a wonderful time, in spite of potty trips (hilarious) and fevers (doesn't it always figure?). I love the first picture.

2:24 PM  
Blogger therapydoc said...

I always look for people who ski blogs, but am terrified of down hill (too many falls), and hooked on cross-country. But kids really do look so natural, don't they? And face it, they are closer to the ground.

5:41 PM  
Blogger Katherine said...

I have the opposite problem. I am the one who is always taking my 6 year old son into the women's room. Which can only end in tears.

9:50 PM  
Blogger Mrs.O said...

Oh, this sounds like so much fun, especially the "potty" session :-)

9:50 PM  
Blogger Julie said...

Thanks for the heads-up/how-to for little kid skiing. We will likely start trying the girls out on skis next year (?)(yikes). Nice potty technique there Dad. I freak out about the girls touching anything in the ladies room too. They always go for the potentially germiest things.

3:04 PM  
Blogger Eric Mueller said...

"after saying, "Don't touch ANYTHING" about a dozen times" -- LOL, I'm a grownup and I still have to say that to myself every time I use the men's room... ;-)

11:44 PM  
Blogger Lou said...

Great post. Good times.

8:01 PM  

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