Today, we took the boys skiing. It was awesome! We actually drove up to Taos on Monday night because a snow storm was blowing in and we wanted to avoid driving on icy roads. We stayed at the Sagebrush inn right out side of Taos. It was pretty nice for an old stinky hotel. We also got a good rate on a junior suit! It was two rooms with a kiva fire place, refrigerator, and a microwave. We grabbed dinner at a nearby Mexican food restaurant then played Skipbo with the boys. We all fell asleep around 10:00 PM. I was exhausted!
We woke up around seven, ate the breakfast I brought and then hit the road to Sipapu! I was a little nervous because they have a lot of COVID safe rules in place. I wasn’t sure if I reserved the right stuff; rentals and lift tickets, because their site wasn’t the easiest to navigate. However, I was wrong. Everything went smoothly! The check-in was easy, the rentals were perfect, and the snow was awesome! We couldn’t have asked for a better first time skiing.
Now, I have been skiing at least twice in my life and snowboarding once. All of this was more than 20 years ago. We could have gone skiing as a family sooner, but it was me who was hesitant. Stephen was a ski instructor in high school! So he really knows his stuff. It is sort of my fault that we have never been. Stephen was so excited. I think, at first, he was a little worried the snow would be terrible, or the rentals would hurt our feet, or the boys would hate it. Boy, were we wrong!
We went to the first magic carpet and went up and down it 25-30 times. It was so easy. Too easy. No one fell. Not once. Then we moved over to the second magic carpet. I didn’t go up. I’m not ready. But, the boys went up and fell. A lot. They came down frustrated and angry. I suggested we get some lunch and take a break. Stephen took that opportunity to go up to the top of the ski lift and ski by himself. He came back so happy. I haven’t seen him that happy in years. The boys ate and rested, then they were ready to go again. What a difference food makes! They went on the second bunny hill two more times and only fell a few times. Edward wanted to stick to the bunny hills, but Nolen was ready to go up the ski lift! He nailed it. He loved it so much he went again!
Well, as a parent, you don’t know what to expect when your kids try something new. They are going to get frustrated and it will be hard. I prayed as Edward came down the third time on the hard bunny hill that it would get easier, but then I realized that was a foolish prayer. I don’t want him to fall and I want skiing to be easy for him, but I also want to see him succeed after he has failed and tried and tried again. That makes him a stronger person in the long run. If it was all too easy, what would he have learned? If I want him to grow up and learn some tough life lessons, I have to watch him fail.
Edward and I spent some time at the easy bunny hill while Nolen and Stephen went up the ski lift. Edward fell and I didn’t help him up. He was so frustrated. I kept cheering him on but finally had to walk away. He had to get up in his own. Then, the very next run I did, I fell! It was so hard to get up! I almost laughed at myself because no one was there to help me up. And Edward was able to get up in his own then watch me seriously struggle to get up by myself. I am so glad he had the opportunity to see me struggle right after he had struggled to get up. Life lessons on the ski hill.
It was truly an awesome day. One to remember for a life time.
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