pass the helmet please

so apparently i'm a skiier. well, i don't know if i would call what i do "skiing" just yet. it all started in october when we ventured out to the fairgrounds during the annual ski swap. andy and i had decided that this is my year, mostly because i'm sick of sitting at home while he has all the fun for hours on end. speaking of, i'm going to digress a little bit here...what is it with men's activities? is it a law that they have to take a minimum of 4 hours? golf-5 hours, skiing-7 or 8 hours, snowmobiling, 4-wheeling, hunting...need i go on? a woman can go out to lunch for maybe an hour and a half and who is texting or calling every 5 minutes to see where she is? yeah, the "man of the house." ridiculous what we have to put up with. anyway, back to me overcoming the odds and joining the 4 hour plus activity crowd. i'm pretty sure i deserve a medal or at least a cherry cordial for that. so i got myself all outfitted with all-mountain skis (which are pretty sweet by the way), pants, jacket, boots, gloves, even a helmet or should i say especially a helmet. those of you that know me, should not be surprised by that. so, the last month or so i've been "hitting the slopes" as they say. i figure use of the jargin gets me halfway there. i've had a couple lessons from 18 year old boys and i must admit that i have the pizza down pat. that's when you point your skis together like all the tiny kids that get awesome by the time they're 5. i "ride" the bunny hill like a champ and i've moved on to the ever-challenging blue square hill...where there are still kids that barely come up to my waist forging down the hill like it was their backyard. all in all its been a pretty fun ride. i've actually gotten to the point where i can make it down the hill without wanting to stop, cry, and walk the rest of the way down. it feels good to actually get past the point of pure frustration...which is where i still am with golf and about every other sport on the planet. that's okay though, i just figure that i'll go on to become one of those helicopter parents that lives their lives through their children. or i'll just keep doin what i do and just force my kids to get proficient at at least one thing before they get to be 28 and snow-plowing. i guess only time will tell.