winter makes me lazy
Living in a northern state with two babies in the wintertime pretty much guarantees a home bound lifestyle. Getting them all bundled up...avoiding the flu and other bugs...keeping tiny hands and ears warm...it's just a LOT of work. Because of being stuck at home more than usual, I've been feeling a bit cooped up, so when my husband suggested we go skiing one afternoon-just the two of us-I was excited about the potential adventure/kid-free afternoon.
In the olden days, I could just hop into my car with my skis and meet him up at the mountain (where he is working these days). Now, however, this meant I had to take two hours of prep time and
1. pack a bag for Carter including bottles, diapers, changes of outfits, toy, blanket
2. pack a bag for Addison including snacks, her DVD player/signing time, diapers, a change of outfit, glasses
3. locate all of my ski stuff- helmet, gloves, poles, boots, skis, snowpants that fit...etc
Carry all of that plus the two children out to the car.
Drive across town to drop Carter off at a friend's house, drive back across town and drop Addison off at her grandparent's house and then drive the 45-50 minutes up to the mountain.
I started all of my prep at 11:30 and by the time I was actually at the mountain it was 2:00.
It was cold; lose-your-nose to frostbite kind of cold. I waited patiently for my husband to join me where I thought he said he would be, but when 45 minutes had passed and I was starting to turn into a purplish/blue icicle I thought perhaps I should get some runs in by myself.
It took me 20 minutes to finally get my boots latched up because they kind of froze open (rookie mistake) and then I willed my wobbling legs to cooperate as I boarded the ski lift. (This was my first run of the season)
I got to the top and slowly skied off the chair lift and almost knocked over a poor unsuspecting little boy because I discovered very fast that the snow had been replaced with ICE. (no wonder the mountain was so empty)
Carefully making my way down the mountain, I kept hitting patches of ice and just sliding out of control. Not being the seasoned skier that my husband is, this made me extremely nervous and tense. Also, scattered across the trail were tiny little balls of ice that kept scratching my skis and propelling me towards the larger sheets of ice.
I do NOT like skiing on ice. (for those of you non skiers, it pretty much means that it can be impossible to stop...and it makes you go WAY faster than you had planned...in a break-your-neck kind of way)
I had the newscast all planned out in my head where they would announce that a stay at home mom from Essex lost control on the ski hill that afternoon, leaving two beautiful children behind. Skiing on ice does funny things to my already somewhat precarious balance of pessimism/optimism.
I fell once (but Jess Turner if you're reading this I DID NOT FALL at all) and couldn't get back up all by myself because the snow was so icy I kept sliding down the hill sideways every time I tried. An instructor finally stopped and helped me up. I kindly refrained from dropping Aaron's name. No need to embarrass the hubby by letting his coworkers know that it was HIS WIFE who was attempting to claw her way back up the mountain to a spot flat enough to find her feet.
I finally got to the bottom of the mountain, my heart in my throat and and every muscle aching from how tense the icy hill made me. I'm going to miss those toes that the cold claimed half way down.
I saw my husband standing at the bottom of the hill.
"Ready?" He asked, grinning. He is a mad skier, and loves to test the limits of our marriage by trying to convince me onto black diamonds with the assurance that it is mislabeled.
I looked into his blue eyes and gave up trying to be the strong mountain woman (yeah, who was I fooling, anyway?)
"Let's go get a coffee."
"Coffee?"
"Coffee."
When he agreed rather quickly, I realized that he had been out in the 0 degree weather and fighting the ice ALL DAY (with a group of third grade girls that he was teaching).
So we settled into a nearby restaurant and had coffee...and a hamburger...and fries.
My "intense skiing" workout of the day ended up not to be the calorie loss I had intended.
...and that is why I prefer to stay at home in my sweats, folding laundry, drinking coffee that I didn't pay $4 a cup for, and watching Shark Tank while the children nap in their own beds. It's just easier...and I'm lazy...
was all that worth it for ONE RUN?
(the date with my husband was nice...but we could have done that at home. right?)
It's settled. I'm a boring person.very.boring.
But as much a it bugs me to admit it...I really was looking forward to some good skiing. (I'm turning into a Vermonter-OH NO!) I think I'm going to have to try this again soon. (Note to self: bring mountain thawing blow torch.)
It turns out that Addison is much braver than I am when it comes to snow activities with Daddy...
In the olden days, I could just hop into my car with my skis and meet him up at the mountain (where he is working these days). Now, however, this meant I had to take two hours of prep time and
1. pack a bag for Carter including bottles, diapers, changes of outfits, toy, blanket
2. pack a bag for Addison including snacks, her DVD player/signing time, diapers, a change of outfit, glasses
3. locate all of my ski stuff- helmet, gloves, poles, boots, skis, snowpants that fit...etc
Carry all of that plus the two children out to the car.
Drive across town to drop Carter off at a friend's house, drive back across town and drop Addison off at her grandparent's house and then drive the 45-50 minutes up to the mountain.
I started all of my prep at 11:30 and by the time I was actually at the mountain it was 2:00.
It was cold; lose-your-nose to frostbite kind of cold. I waited patiently for my husband to join me where I thought he said he would be, but when 45 minutes had passed and I was starting to turn into a purplish/blue icicle I thought perhaps I should get some runs in by myself.
It took me 20 minutes to finally get my boots latched up because they kind of froze open (rookie mistake) and then I willed my wobbling legs to cooperate as I boarded the ski lift. (This was my first run of the season)
I got to the top and slowly skied off the chair lift and almost knocked over a poor unsuspecting little boy because I discovered very fast that the snow had been replaced with ICE. (no wonder the mountain was so empty)
Carefully making my way down the mountain, I kept hitting patches of ice and just sliding out of control. Not being the seasoned skier that my husband is, this made me extremely nervous and tense. Also, scattered across the trail were tiny little balls of ice that kept scratching my skis and propelling me towards the larger sheets of ice.
I do NOT like skiing on ice. (for those of you non skiers, it pretty much means that it can be impossible to stop...and it makes you go WAY faster than you had planned...in a break-your-neck kind of way)
I had the newscast all planned out in my head where they would announce that a stay at home mom from Essex lost control on the ski hill that afternoon, leaving two beautiful children behind. Skiing on ice does funny things to my already somewhat precarious balance of pessimism/optimism.
I fell once (but Jess Turner if you're reading this I DID NOT FALL at all) and couldn't get back up all by myself because the snow was so icy I kept sliding down the hill sideways every time I tried. An instructor finally stopped and helped me up. I kindly refrained from dropping Aaron's name. No need to embarrass the hubby by letting his coworkers know that it was HIS WIFE who was attempting to claw her way back up the mountain to a spot flat enough to find her feet.
I finally got to the bottom of the mountain, my heart in my throat and and every muscle aching from how tense the icy hill made me. I'm going to miss those toes that the cold claimed half way down.
I saw my husband standing at the bottom of the hill.
"Ready?" He asked, grinning. He is a mad skier, and loves to test the limits of our marriage by trying to convince me onto black diamonds with the assurance that it is mislabeled.
I looked into his blue eyes and gave up trying to be the strong mountain woman (yeah, who was I fooling, anyway?)
"Let's go get a coffee."
"Coffee?"
"Coffee."
When he agreed rather quickly, I realized that he had been out in the 0 degree weather and fighting the ice ALL DAY (with a group of third grade girls that he was teaching).
So we settled into a nearby restaurant and had coffee...and a hamburger...and fries.
My "intense skiing" workout of the day ended up not to be the calorie loss I had intended.
...and that is why I prefer to stay at home in my sweats, folding laundry, drinking coffee that I didn't pay $4 a cup for, and watching Shark Tank while the children nap in their own beds. It's just easier...and I'm lazy...
was all that worth it for ONE RUN?
(the date with my husband was nice...but we could have done that at home. right?)
It's settled. I'm a boring person.very.boring.
But as much a it bugs me to admit it...I really was looking forward to some good skiing. (I'm turning into a Vermonter-OH NO!) I think I'm going to have to try this again soon. (Note to self: bring mountain thawing blow torch.)
It turns out that Addison is much braver than I am when it comes to snow activities with Daddy...
and Carter counts down the days until he can join in the fun.
Happy Tuesday....stay warm, avoid the ice...and drink lots of coffee. (my newest recipe for happiness)
p.s.I would like to thank the BJU magaine for doing such a sweet article on Addison. We are happy to share our story in the hopes that we are making a difference. Thank you, Emily Park.
p.s.s. another way we hope to make a difference? our ebook. Have you read it yet?