We did it!!!!
We officially LOVE living in Washington!
An update on our quest:
My first snow boarding lesson was "humbling" to say the least. After seeing how easy it was for Alex I thought it would be a piece of cake for me, I mean...I work out 5-6 days a week doing a combination of cardio, core and pilates. I have a developed core, strong legs and I may have some fat deposits in my lower body...I feel proud of what my body can do and I feel healthy.
Alex works out maybe 3 times in a "good" month. (And let me repeat I saw how easy snow boarding was for him....)
So, we got to Stevens, checked the kids into "Adventure Club" and went off to arrange for our lesson. I had rented a board and boots off the mountain...Alex was given a board as a gift from our friends and bought boots-so we both had the gear. After seeing how good the snow was I decided on a package lesson/lift ticket/gear so that I could rent skis and ski because Kevin (little bro) was meeting us up there and I wanted to spend some time with him.
Our lesson began at 10:00am. I felt pretty confident. (I remembered the words of my Physical Therapist or Sports Dr. or whoever he was after I blew my knee 12 years ago. "You need to take up snow boarding and give up skiing, it's way better for your knees...") I had the gear, the drive and the physical ability.....or so I thought. The teacher asked us to introduce ourselves to him and the group and tell everybody our names and our ages... "Hi I am _____, I am 17", and the ages continued..."21", "23," "15,"...."UM...35" (hi) "Hi, my name is Alex and I am 40".
30 minutes into our lesson, after learning how to strap myself into and out of the bindings, hook my leash on, re-tie my boots twice...I am telling myself lots of things. "No cursing" "you can do this" "remember our family rule is you can't decide not to do something until you learn how to do it...after you master it you can decide if it is something that you want to do""if Alex can do this, so can you" 45 minutes later "if everyone in the class can do this so can you" 60 minutes later...(looking up the mountain at the perfect snow) "who made up that family rule anyway?" 65 minutes later (yes, I was keeping track of the minutes until the lesson was over!) Kevin skied by...through the perfect snow my thoughts changed to"I wonder how long it is going to take me to get my rental skis""I wonder how long it is going to take Alex to learn how to snow board well enough to board alongside me" "WHAT DO PEOPLE SEE IN THIS???" and other things like (again) "no cursing" and "Alex has gone over to the darkside".
I could not GET UP!!! Once the teacher pulled me up I could turn and it seemed like it could become fun....someday...but (did I mention the snow was luscious?) I left the lesson 15 minutes early to go and get my skis...and boy am I glad I did!! Alex continued with his lesson and was on the green run chair lift after lunch, he was totally happy and is in love with snow boarding. (whatever.) I told him as I left, "honey, you get good on the board and then we can be together...me on skis, you on the board." I met KJ and he took me all over the mountain on all sorts of different runs and I HAD A BLAST... (but) he SMOKED me!
Skiing was also humbling!! The last time I skied was 12 years ago when I blew my knee...so I am learning to trust my knee again. Kevin is a SUPER FAST skier. Way faster than I ever was (so I had to deal with my ego a little/lot bit). (Insert self talk "I am a grown up, this is not a competition...it is about listening to your body...") I feel like I have started over learning to ski. But just like golf, all it takes is one good swing (one good run down the mountain) (one good ride on a wave)(one good fish) and it's all that you can think about!
We officially LOVE living in Washington!
An update on our quest:
My first snow boarding lesson was "humbling" to say the least. After seeing how easy it was for Alex I thought it would be a piece of cake for me, I mean...I work out 5-6 days a week doing a combination of cardio, core and pilates. I have a developed core, strong legs and I may have some fat deposits in my lower body...I feel proud of what my body can do and I feel healthy.
Alex works out maybe 3 times in a "good" month. (And let me repeat I saw how easy snow boarding was for him....)
So, we got to Stevens, checked the kids into "Adventure Club" and went off to arrange for our lesson. I had rented a board and boots off the mountain...Alex was given a board as a gift from our friends and bought boots-so we both had the gear. After seeing how good the snow was I decided on a package lesson/lift ticket/gear so that I could rent skis and ski because Kevin (little bro) was meeting us up there and I wanted to spend some time with him.
Our lesson began at 10:00am. I felt pretty confident. (I remembered the words of my Physical Therapist or Sports Dr. or whoever he was after I blew my knee 12 years ago. "You need to take up snow boarding and give up skiing, it's way better for your knees...") I had the gear, the drive and the physical ability.....or so I thought. The teacher asked us to introduce ourselves to him and the group and tell everybody our names and our ages... "Hi I am _____, I am 17", and the ages continued..."21", "23," "15,"...."UM...35" (hi) "Hi, my name is Alex and I am 40".
30 minutes into our lesson, after learning how to strap myself into and out of the bindings, hook my leash on, re-tie my boots twice...I am telling myself lots of things. "No cursing" "you can do this" "remember our family rule is you can't decide not to do something until you learn how to do it...after you master it you can decide if it is something that you want to do""if Alex can do this, so can you" 45 minutes later "if everyone in the class can do this so can you" 60 minutes later...(looking up the mountain at the perfect snow) "who made up that family rule anyway?" 65 minutes later (yes, I was keeping track of the minutes until the lesson was over!) Kevin skied by...through the perfect snow my thoughts changed to"I wonder how long it is going to take me to get my rental skis""I wonder how long it is going to take Alex to learn how to snow board well enough to board alongside me" "WHAT DO PEOPLE SEE IN THIS???" and other things like (again) "no cursing" and "Alex has gone over to the darkside".
I could not GET UP!!! Once the teacher pulled me up I could turn and it seemed like it could become fun....someday...but (did I mention the snow was luscious?) I left the lesson 15 minutes early to go and get my skis...and boy am I glad I did!! Alex continued with his lesson and was on the green run chair lift after lunch, he was totally happy and is in love with snow boarding. (whatever.) I told him as I left, "honey, you get good on the board and then we can be together...me on skis, you on the board." I met KJ and he took me all over the mountain on all sorts of different runs and I HAD A BLAST... (but) he SMOKED me!
Skiing was also humbling!! The last time I skied was 12 years ago when I blew my knee...so I am learning to trust my knee again. Kevin is a SUPER FAST skier. Way faster than I ever was (so I had to deal with my ego a little/lot bit). (Insert self talk "I am a grown up, this is not a competition...it is about listening to your body...") I feel like I have started over learning to ski. But just like golf, all it takes is one good swing (one good run down the mountain) (one good ride on a wave)(one good fish) and it's all that you can think about!
3 comments:
Ha! That's funny. Glad you broke your own rule and ended up having a good time. You know how you feel about boarding?...that's how I felt about skiing.
The picture looks georgeous!
like it is the DARKSIDE???
I have heard so many people who are competent skiers relate a similar experience with snowboarding. Sounds like you are enjoying yourself. Glad you found a reason to love where you are.
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