Ski weekend success!

Such a small sentence to encompass SO MUCH EFFORT. Any activity that involves the words: “kids” and “gear,” is bound to be work.

This weekend was our warm-up run… It was our first go of what will be all four of us on the slopes for February vacation.

This weekend was our chance to iron out the kinks. Or at least identify the kinks and adjust my expectations. Some things are resistant to ironing.

We lucked out and got to stay with amazing friends. Our last ski trip was February 2020, weeks before the world shut down. BB was 3.5 years old and RB was 4 months old.

So the last time BB and I skied was 3 years ago. The last time Captain telemarked was 9 years ago. The last time he snowboarded was so long ago he never came up with a timeline, maybe 15 years ago.

Captain decided he’d snowboard. Telemarking tore his ACL and he does NOT want to go through that again. NOR DO I. There may be nothing more mind numbing than hearing two people compare ACL surgery notes.

It was Captain’s favorite conversation starter for awhile, and there are a surprising number of people out there with ACL stories. I’m sure it’s only getting worse as we descend deep into middle-age.

For February vacation, I reserved ski school for both kids, but this past weekend the ski school started at age four. RB’s options were childcare, private lessons or somehow convincing her she’s four, but still poops in a diaper.

RB has something of a Napoleon complex. After every meal, she stands up and checks to see if she’s grown. Her goal is to be big enough to go in BB’s art room.

RB finished her breakfast the other day and hopped out of her seat. She looked up to see where she stood in relation to the kitchen counter. Her eyes welled up and she hung her head in a huge mope,

“I’m still little!”

I knew deep in my soul that I would break her if she went into daycare while BB skied. I also knew deep in my soul that I would break if I tried to teach her myself. Private lesson booked for Saturday.

As it was, I didn’t book a private lesson for her on Sunday, just daycare and she was MAD. As we left the condo she kept yelling at us,

“I need my ski boots! I need my helmet! I need my mittens!”

“No. You’re not going skiing.”

Cue full-on guttural wail.

She finally calmed down to the tune of me telling her over and over again,

“You’ll be skiing all week in Canada.”

Saturday apres-ski, the adults slipped into the hot tub, while the kids watched a movie. I had warned BB ahead of time about this situation, but was silly enough to think RB wouldn’t notice. After a glorious soak, I floated back into the condo. RB’s head swiveled around,

“You went in the hot pool?”

“Yes.”

“I want to go in the hot pool!”

“Adults only.”

“I WANT TO GO IN THE HOT POOL!!!”

“In Canada.”

Canada has become my safe word.

Captain and I were reunited on the mountain. Skiing is how we met and to be together again made every tantrum more than worth it. Also stopping midday and realizing, that between ski school and daycare, we had bought ourselves a lunch date, was miraculous.

When we picked BB up from ski school Saturday she melted down. She thought she was going to ski with us. We promised to pick her up early Sunday and make it happen.

Sunday her ski instructor told me,

“She’s made a lot of progress and is turning well.”

Great news! We head for the lift. I can’t believe I’m on a lift with my kiddo! She tells us she wants to lead.

She heads straight off the lift and straight down the mountain. Power pizza all the way.

On the next run, I suggest,

“Lets do some turns.”

BB starts to sob,

“I don’t want to turn!”

And I wanted this to be fun. I back off my grand idea of turning and follow behind BB’s wedge as she plows the snow straight to the bottom.

We pick up RB from childcare. She yells,

“Is it Canada time?!!”

You don’t need me to tell you how this ended.