I feel blessed, at the moment. True, there are a couple of nagging little things, like some irregularity with my credit report and my tight hamstrings (not related). But I am enjoying a number of things now. It is 50 and sunny outside; not a typical gray, damp, blustery November day. I got a 90 minute ride this morning before work on my cyclocross bike; some street and some trail. And my kids, age 30 and 28, who are good buddies and both working, have invited and paid for my wife to fly to Denver for a family visit. I get to stay home and work, but I also got to see my daughter and grandson a couple weeks ago when I went to Bellingham, WA for the last kayak slalom of the season. br /Ah those kids. It wasn’t long ago in my mind that they were just learning how to ski. When Erin was 6 and Jed was 4 they were skiing the whole mountain at Mt Ascutney in Vermont. At ages 8 and 6 they were involved in the Andover Outing Club Nordic program in Andover, NH. We all looked forward to winter days when we could ski together. Erin continued to race alpine on the high school team and Jed pursued Nordic Combined, jumping and cross country. Sure, it meant we were often stretched in different directions on weekends and juggled the homework, housework, competition schedule. It was an investment in their health, personal growth, positive identity. The kids grew. So did the dust bunnies under the couch. br /I have to add that my wife and I met when we were both young ski instructors. My father-in-law was a ski instructor. He is 92 and still Nordic ski racing. He came for a visit not long ago with scratches on his hand and face, from a fall he took rollerskiing. br /br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://www.webskis.com/uploaded_images/familyski@meissner-794269.jpg”img style=”float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;” src=”http://www.webskis.com/uploaded_images/familyski@meissner-794256.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”” //abr /br /And now, here comes winter. We can’t wait. It means that we can all come together and share a life-long activity, get exercise, build stories, laugh. Last year we rallied on a cold December day, got grandson Corbin bundled into the Chariot and headed into a trailside shelter for lunch. Nobody burned their nylon pants on the stove and we had a great day. It meant we could indulge without guilt in a big meal at home. br /br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://www.webskis.com/uploaded_images/bertchariot-773250-737246.jpg”img style=”float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;” src=”http://www.webskis.com/uploaded_images/bertchariot-773250-737236.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”” //abr /br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://www.webskis.com/uploaded_images/D+B+J-stmbt-747674.JPG”img style=”float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 267px;” src=”http://www.webskis.com/uploaded_images/D+B+J-stmbt-747631.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” //abr /br /For us, skiing is not just a luxury. It is an essential part of who we are as a family. We end up not spending money on other things so that we can spend money on skis. We taught our kids to ski and it has helped tighten the bonds. Our priorities were to spend what little money we could spare on skis, boots and wax and not on lawn care or house upgrades. In my opinion it was a wise investment and lessons well learned. br /I hope to see you out there embracing winter. Have a good one.br /br /br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://www.webskis.com/uploaded_images/erin-corb-pack-786619.JPG”img style=”float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;” src=”http://www.webskis.com/uploaded_images/erin-corb-pack-786617.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” //adiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6589659500745667109-1387350058871507817?l=www.webskis.com%2Fwebskisblog.html’ alt=” //div
