Skiing For the First Time in Forty Years

I feel like an athlete again, and I'm absolutely on top of the world. I actually skiied at Killington Vermont this weekend, past sixty years old, and came out intact thanks to my amazing daughter and son-in-law, the best ski instructors in the world.
I was blessed to be with them and other great folks, including my youngest daughter, in a house right on the trail. Out the door and down the mountain we would go!

First the bad news. I was so excited to ski, lets say over-excited, that when I finally got suited up and out on the slope, ten minutes after an eight hour trip to get there, I thought I was having a heart attack. Literally. I had chest pains, felt faint, saw stars and started to sweat bullets, not very lady-like but true. I wondered if I should have had a physical, after all I don't go to the gym and I don't do a whole lot beyond my Whole Body Vibration machine! In other words I'm not in tip-top shape. Not even bottom-shape. I thought it was a heart attack, figured what a burden my sudden death would be to the happy people in the ski lodge, and gave up before I began. I knew my daughters, so thrilled at the prospect of seeing mom take off down the mountain like a champion, would be disappointed and worried to see me retreat, but I just couldn't do more than ski across the path to demonstrate my great potential. A seasoned observer correctly diagnosed a panic attack, but I was having none of that! Me?? Panic struck? No way! So we laughed it off and I made it through, heart still pumping. I could feel a few concerned glances shot in my direction, and was greatly appreciative of course, having passed through the valley of the shadow.

It was the clothes. Back in the day when I really skiied, and weighed one hundred and ten pounds, cotton and wool was all we needed. I wore blue jeans and a wool sweater. Skiis were very long, wooden, and had elaborate bindings.You had to strap them up and lock them in. But your whole body could move freely. So in Vermont this weekend I was amazed at the newfangled ways of it all. I rented skiis and borrowed clothes for starters, figuring I'd upgrade to my own equipment after getting the lay of the land. The ski boots nowadays are rock hard and go practically to your knees. Fibers I've still never heard of choked and strangled me. The goggles were huge. I felt like an astronaut. My breathing reminded me of the scene in 2001 when Hal is being shut down. My daughter pointed to a path through the woods and I knew I couldn't go there in the state I was in. So back inside we went, disappointed but laughing, albeit a little nervously.

The next day I adjusted. Thank goodness the temperature was above freezing. I wore my wool felt street jacket and my very familiar and therefore comforting pink cashmere scarf around my neck. After a few runs, the scarf started flapping around, my son-in-law re-wrapped it around my neck while we were on the skilift, one of the nicest things that's ever happened to me, and I'll remember it all my life. It was beautiful to ride the chairlift with two of my beautiful daughters and one of my wonderful sons-in-law. It was heavenly!

Before we did anything else we tried the baby slope, where before I went the first time up the lift, I had another slight near heart attack. But lo and behold it was easy! It all came back to me. My daughters looked so beautiful to me as they rode the chairlift past or we skiied around each other. Five or six times there and we were ready to move on.

All went well. We skiied. My son-in-law, saint-like, skipped his usual black diamondish trails and stayed behind me, making encouraging comments and helping me up when I fell. My upper arm muscles need some re-training, they felt hollow and strained, but loved the action! I was so proud to see my daughters skiing so well. My daughters, like snow princesses, skiied relaxed and serene, and led us through the path in the woods, back to the house. We skiied right up to the back door then went in by the fire.

I could go on and on about how wonderful it was. How I skiied and then drove back home, down the mountain in a foggy blizzard, and survived! But now it's back to work and back to reality.