Joy in Watching
I am not an alpine skier, but once or twice a year I find myself sitting in a ski lodge; an island surrounded by skiers moving up and down like waves on the water as they prepare to hit the slopes. Somehow, I find solitude in the chaos around me.
The reason I find myself here is because I join him on his ski trips with his daughter and her boyfriend. I'm the oasis he returns to when he needs a break or food. In their absence I allow my thoughts to flow freely releasing any stress from normal daily routine.
There was a time I wanted to learn to ski. Everyone seems to thoroughly enjoy it as evidenced by the smiles as they come down the slopes; I wanted to become a part of this tribe.
Over a couple of winters, many years ago, I took several lessons. In my mind it did not seem that difficult; If young children can learn to do this then how could I not master it?
After my third or fourth lesson reality hit me; I was not going to join the tribe. There were a couple of things I neglected to take into consideration; my fear of heights and going too fast. On the last "beginner" lesson I was unable to dig in the edge of my skis to stop and slid to the edge of a drop off. The instructor glided over on his skis, stood over me and said "wow"!
After this particular lesson, my boyfriend joined me and was insistent we were going to go up the lift together a couple of times and ski down. By the time we got to the bottom of the trail on the first run I had taken him down at least three or four times. This ended not only his day of skiing, but my quest to become a skier.
So, today I am content to sit in the lodge and watch. I'm in awe as I see the skiers so effortlessly gliding and swooshing down the mountain; as if they, their skis and the mountain are one. There may be a moment every now and then that I envy the joy shining on their faces, but mostly I'm quite happy to be watching from the comfort of the lodge.
Even those of us who are voyeurs on the sidelines can support the tribe as they ski down the slopes with sheer joy.
The reason I find myself here is because I join him on his ski trips with his daughter and her boyfriend. I'm the oasis he returns to when he needs a break or food. In their absence I allow my thoughts to flow freely releasing any stress from normal daily routine.
There was a time I wanted to learn to ski. Everyone seems to thoroughly enjoy it as evidenced by the smiles as they come down the slopes; I wanted to become a part of this tribe.
Over a couple of winters, many years ago, I took several lessons. In my mind it did not seem that difficult; If young children can learn to do this then how could I not master it?
After my third or fourth lesson reality hit me; I was not going to join the tribe. There were a couple of things I neglected to take into consideration; my fear of heights and going too fast. On the last "beginner" lesson I was unable to dig in the edge of my skis to stop and slid to the edge of a drop off. The instructor glided over on his skis, stood over me and said "wow"!
After this particular lesson, my boyfriend joined me and was insistent we were going to go up the lift together a couple of times and ski down. By the time we got to the bottom of the trail on the first run I had taken him down at least three or four times. This ended not only his day of skiing, but my quest to become a skier.
So, today I am content to sit in the lodge and watch. I'm in awe as I see the skiers so effortlessly gliding and swooshing down the mountain; as if they, their skis and the mountain are one. There may be a moment every now and then that I envy the joy shining on their faces, but mostly I'm quite happy to be watching from the comfort of the lodge.
Even those of us who are voyeurs on the sidelines can support the tribe as they ski down the slopes with sheer joy.
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