Tuesday, December 09, 2008

Like Father, Like Son

I started skiing when I was 4 years old. My parents both skied, and naturally, you take after your folks. Generally what they do, you end up doing. Good news for those who live active, healthy lifestyles, bad news for those who watch television.

Anyway, I took yesterday afternoon off and went to my oldest boys 2nd skiing lesson. I was absolutely amazed at how well he cruised down the bunny hill. He’s almost got turning down, and stopping is coming along too. Best of all, he absolutely loves it. I skied like crazy as a youngster (seasons passes to various resorts every single year) and my best year I had over 50 ski days. As a teenager, I shifted to snowboarding, and was quite into that for a few years. Then I moved out of my parents house and sort of forgot about all of that. My wife and I snowboarded for a few seasons, and then just sort of stopped. Not sure why.
A few months ago, my son started to notice pictures of people skiing. We went to a wedding up at a ski resort a few weeks ago, and all he talked about was skiing. He really wanted to do it. So, we signed him up for some lessons. He absolutely loves it! And, he’s pretty good. For his 2nd time ever being on skis, and only 4 years old, he really zips down the hill quite well.
My parents have a condo in Fernie that I’ve never been too. It’s vacant almost all of the time and they keep telling us that we need to get up there. It’s available to us as much as we want, and for some reason, we just haven’t gone. I think all that will change in the next few years. Looks like I’ll be taking up skiing again too. Kids are great. I’m constantly re-introduced to the things that I loved as a child. Life is good.

2 comments:

Pat S said...

GO TO FERNIE!!!

I see that you have a busy schedule, but like you, I grew up skiing and eventually trashed my knees patrolling and am now on the outside looking in.

You never know when and how fast things can change. Seeing as how you son is loving it, and the opportunity that is yours, I would make it a priority!

Jerome said...

I know two boys are getting skis for Christmas from their aunts, and my parents are buying them ski boots. While my youngest son is 2 1/2, he'll soon be bombing the hills too. Now, I think my wife and I are going to start hunting down some equipment. Right now we're loosly planning a trip early in the new year! Even if I just take my boy for a few hours a few days in a row, I think he'll really start to catch on. When I was a kid, we would always go to either, big mountain, big white, or whitefish for 10 days. The largest leaps in skill development happen when you can get several consecutive days to practice. Plus, it's fun to be a ski bum for a few days.