A VALENTINE TO SKIING
Sport inspires real love
It’s Valentine’s Day, and even if — like me — you kind of think it’s a semi-farce of a holiday, you probably take time to think about the love(s) in your life.
For me, there’s my spouse, kids, friends, golf, the beach and most of all my three adorable grandkids.
But there’s another love that, frankly, comes close to that grandkid level of love. Skiing — the sport, the setting, the vibe and the whole enchilada has long been near, if not at the top of my list of loves.
I like to make V Day a little less Hallmark-ish and a little more meaningful by taking time to reflect on that love.
Skiing came to me as a young child and has been my constant heartbeat ever since. We’ve barely wavered, skiing and me, through every phase of my life. Honestly I’m not sure who I am without skiing a part of me.
Skiing goes with the flow in our relationship. Being a skier isn’t as demanding as, say, being a marathon runner. While it’s always better to be in top shape to ski and it never hurts to get in lots of days to stay on top of your game, skiing has always been willing to come to me where I am at any point in my life.
When I was young and crazy, skiing was there to keep me busy in a healthy way all day, and out on the slopes with friends who loved it as much as I did. As a young parent, skiing was there for us to share, and for me to still find time alone with my love without the kids thanks to excellent onsite day cares and kiddie ski schools (and now my kids share my love; lucky me!)
After a major illness followed by a bone-breaking accident slowed me somewhat, skiing was there to offer me just as much happiness and thrill on gentler trails. You don’t have to ski the triple black chutes to get all the love skiing can give you — trust me on that.
Skiing is there, now, as my husband and I ease our way into being proud and hopefully long-time senior skiers. It’s a special time in our relationship, skiing and me, because free of the worries of raising my kids, I can now head out and hang with skiing on the quieter days when skiing has time to focus nearly totally on me.
It’s not like I’ve never had to work at our relationship. After all, any relationship worth having and keeping through a lifetime requires tending.
Rather than therapy, we’ve always worked things out with a few lessons, even now, about 60 years into our relationship. Keeping things fresh and open has kept us together.
The other day I was skiing with a friend who loves skiing as much — and if it is possible even more — than I do. We spoke about our goals now being more about longevity than badassery (though I’d argue there is nothing on the slopes more badass than an 80+ year old skier; slow, fast or in between). She’d just adjusted her stance to better protect her knees and she showed me how it is done.
It was awkward the first run or two; change often can be. But by day’s end, I was carving with confidence and feeling way less stress on my knees — a win for my love and me.
Skiing also shows me beauty every day we spend together. The gray, the cold, the warm, the bluebird; each day is another view of my love and each view still makes my heart pitter patter — truth.
Skiing knows, too, that I don’t mind sharing our relationship. The chairlift chats with folks you meet on the slopes, the apres fun with new friends you bump into in the bar line or on the dance floor, and the folks you meet in line at the airport who are always ready to talk ski shop are just a few of the many I share skiing with.
I’m not a V Day presentgiver, but for skiing I’ll do anything. My gift to my love this year is simple: I’ll spend all the time I can with you.
Anyone who wants to join us? We’ve got plenty of love to go around.