Like Riding a Bicycle

I really enjoyed reading by the fire (or at least the wood burning stove) while the rest of my family was skiing. Had I stayed at the cabin and read my book, maybe I would have felt differently. But by the time my family showed back up, I was feeling sort of left out. I don't know why. It's not like the kids were thrilled with their first day on skis. I guess it just bugs me to be sitting around relaxing while everyone else is doing something a whole lot more active, even if it's just falling down.

I don't really know what transpired that made the kids eschew their plans for sledding and snowman-building and decide they wanted to go skiing again the next day. Smunch was still coughing up a storm. I suspect he was sleeping poorly, but our bedroom was far enough from his that we couldn't hear him.

We had breakfast at our favorite little breakfast spot, went to the local ski rental shop and took advantage of the "super bro" pricing our cabin "host" (who owns the cabin as his main residence, but moves into his production studio downstairs when he rents the house out...it's a strange situation as renters) said we could get by mentioning his name. Went back to the cabin to get everything else we needed an headed back to the same resort we went to the previous day.

This time, the kids had no lessons, so Daddy and I both skiied the bunny slope with them...for hours. Naturally, that sat just fine with me. I'm a hazard on anything much more complex than a bunny slope. It also gave us a chance to try and teach the kids a few more skills...which is sort of a joke for whatever kid was with me at any given time. They'll both overtake me in no time. Still, I was surprised to find that I hadn't really forgotten anything I'd learned about skiing...on those two days I went skiing...18 years ago.

By the time the lifts closed, Mam was whizzing down the hill. She even made it several times without falling, even if I was cringing at her lack of turns. Smunch, on the other hand, bailed out any time he started turning, so he fell a lot more than his sister. He may have learned a lot and had a good time, but still sick, he was in frustrated tears before the rest of us finished and threw a massive tantrum when he'd spent too much time brooding and missed the last minutes of lift time. Oh well.

There is no photographic evidence that any of this ever occurred (although there are rumors of video evidence). I admit I didn't hate skiing. But that's as far as I'm willing to make concessions.

The Winter Olympics have been on this whole time, of course. It brings a whole new perspective to what people can do in the snow...

We returned to another ear infection. Other child. We'll be done with antibiotics someday, maybe...