The Truth

For years my husband has asked me to go skiing. I don't really know why I balked. Partly my rejection was financial... skiing is too expensive for our family. Partly for fear of injury... with limited insurance for broken bones. But ultimately I don't know why I hesitated.

When we started our family I had a vision. I was going to buy Gap and Gymborie clothes. We wouldn't leave home unless we looked like a postcard. Of course now I can't get my twelve year old son to wear a colored shirt if his life depended on it. And we don't have a Gymborie retailer within 3 hours of our home. I think skiing fit into that same vision. One day when we arrived (financially) we would have matching winter gear, so when we swooshed down the hill everyone would recognize our family as "having it all together."

So, last week I had an opportunity to look the skiing demon in the face. On Tuesday our family went skiing at Christmas Mountain Village in the Wisconsin Dells. The first plan was for the girls to ski with Dad while my son and I had some bonding time. At the base of the mountain after a million failed attempts to use the tow rope, our son decided he wanted to ski (to show the girls how it was done). So, I stood at the tow rope and picked up one kid after another and connected the kids with Dad or the rope to travel up and down the short bunny hill. There was very little swishing and no coordination - of outfits or body parts.

Later that evening while sitting in the outdoor hot tub, my husband shared that the day had not met his expectation. The one trip past the bunny hill was met with fear on the narrow icy paths of the hill. He explained that he had a vision of the snow falling, caressing the girls faces as they joyfully glided down the hill. Instead he was met by terrified expressions and frozen tears.

On Friday, our family spent the afternoon tubing. The weather was perfect. 38 degrees and light snow fall. The ski staff allowed folks to join their tubes together and go down the hill together. We got the "Polnaszek Glide-On" and found a rhythm as we slid down the mountain. Toward the end of our tubing adventure I was confronted with the truth. My tube led the way up the tow rope and looking down I saw mismatched, worn-out, wet and weathered snow gear. My youngest wearing a blaze orange ski mask, blue coat, red gloves and purple snow pants - we were a sight. The truth is our family is a tubing family. We laughed, joined hands, closed our eyes and sped down the hill. True joy on our faces and complete abandon as the snow surrounded our faces. The truth is that our family, dressed as vagabonds had fun and left our dream of ski bunny status on the hill! The truth is... we are REAL! We have unrealized expectations. We have dreams that don't come true. And we grow closer to each other as we travel through this messy journey called life together.