We took them to a small ski area close to where we live and enrolled them in their first ever ski lesson.
Things were not off to an auspicious start when, even after arriving an hour early, it took so long to get through the line for ski boots that we were still without skis with 8 minutes to go until the lesson. I finally flagged down one of the employees to ask if there was an expedited line for kids enrolled in lessons, and she very kindly let us jump the line.
While this was going on, Ethan was holding our own spot in the line so that he and I could get skis, so I was on duty to get the kids set and to their lesson. Julia couldn't get her ski boots on without help, and as soon as they were on, I was told to hand one of each kids' boots to the employee to fit them for skis. We then couldn't get Julia's boot off and she was starting to panic and there I was yanking on her boot in a crowded line full of people with various amounts of equipment, bonking backwards into them as I struggled to get the boot free. Once we finally had the skis, I then had to carry two pairs of skis as the girls each limped with one boot on and one in their hands to find a less crowded area to get everything on. I managed to get them to the lesson waiting area only to discover we hadn't been given helmets.
ME: Uh-oh, we never got helmets.
JULIA: Great, so then we're more likely to DIE than the other kids here?
I hobbled back inside in my own ski boots to get helmets and returned to the girls with them.
ME: (handing a helmet to Julia) Here you go. (putting the other helmet on Madeleine)
JULIA: Why does MADELEINE get all the help??
OMG. I was sweating and ready to lose my mind by the time Ethan texted me to say he needed one of my ski boots because he'd finally gotten through the line to get our skis. I hobbled back inside, and in my efforts to get the boot off while standing up, I pulled a muscle in my back. That's right, folks: I injured myself BEFORE I even went skiing, which is how winners do things.
Luckily, I was still able to ski, and Ethan and I enjoyed heading up the chair lift to ski down together while the girls had their lesson. I was reminded of how different Ethan and I are when it comes to risk-taking mentality.
ETHAN: (as we rode the chair lift) I always wanted to jump off the chair lift, but I never did.
ME: What, you mean, like, midway up??
ETHAN: Yeah. A bunch of us wanted to. There were always people who did it, and they got their ski passes cut when they were caught.
ME: Okay. That's not how I do skiing. I don't do any shenanigans.
Ethan willingly spent the afternoon shenanigan-free with me. I appreciate him dumbing-down his skiing to go with me, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching him ski the harder course solo.
When we returned to the girls, they were nearly done with their lesson, so we hung around to watch the end, then took them for several runs on the easier bunny hills to practice a little longer. Julia had caught on pretty naturally and was able to make it down a larger hill with me.
JULIA: It was fun but also TERRIFYING.
Madeleine's sense of balance remained on point. As we were leaving the ski area, she exclaimed joyfully, "I can't WAIT to go back to school and tell everyone I learned how to SKI!"
Definitely a pro, right?
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