This weekend I took a little getaway with my fellow seniors at NSM for a ski trip to Winterplace, WV. It was possibly the coldest weather I have felt, at one point being at a low of 7 degrees with a windchill of -1! As we arrived there friday night, I was still contemplating signing up for the ski lesson. My family suggested I just pay the extra money and get a refresher, to which I indignantly assured them that I spent 6 hours on my last ski trip learning so this time I was just going to get out there and enjoy myself. Well as you read the title to this blog, do you know where I'm headed? haha well...here's the story. I consider myself pretty good, though I do fall, I insist that I am doing a thing called "making myself fall", which simply means, I'm going down a slope REALLY fast, and I don't want to run in to the person in front of me or fly off of the mountain and die, so I make myself fall. Safety precaution. Of course. Well while half of the group heads off to their lessons saturday morning, I go off with Anita, Phillip, Anna, Amy, Lauren, and Brittany for my first time skiing in 4 years. The funny thing with something like skiing, is every time you pop on those skis feels like your first time. So as I swarm through deja vu I say a quick prayer that I won't slow the rest of the group down. We ski over to the lift, and Phillip and Anita lead us to a slope they say shouldn't be too hard for Brittany and I, as we are the "newbies" of the group. We drop off at a blue slope, which means it is an intermediate level of difficulty. So I think everything will be fine, I'll make it down, no big. So we head down, and I'm doing fine! Brittany and I are bringing up the rear, and we stop to find a fork in the trail, so we discuss which way we think the rest of the group went, as they left us in the dust. we think they went straight ahead, which is a trail that looks like a straight shot down the hill, but a fellow skier on the slope tells us that we should go down the slope to the right, because though it's curvier, it's easier because of the steep drop off that is on the other slope. So we listen to him. Brittany flies down the slope as ever-cautious Sarah thinks she's being a little too fast for this curvy climate and flops herself down to determine the best way to continue. Problem being- 1. I'm on a narrow slope with a bazillion other people, 2. this is my first slope hittin' in 4 years, and 3. I'm by myself, and if I don't hurry, I will have NO idea how to get down. I happen to flop myself between a rock and a hard place literally, as I look and here I am in gap of snow between the beaten path and a light pole. To top things off my ski pops off, and as I struggle for 15 MINUTES to get my ski back on, you guessed it, my pride is shot. But I think I took it as a rather humbling lesson. For the first time my face didn't turn red, and I struggled to get myself up as quick as possible, with no regrets, and just a pinch of frustration. I finally got the guts to continue on when I realized I was caught on a rather conveniently placed thorn bush by the side, and continued another 5 minute struggle to get untangled. Finally! I'm free. I finish the slope, but not being familiar with the park, search for where my group could have gone to as no one waited, and there are hundreds of people caked in front of me. But rather confidently I skied my way down two beginner slopes until I found my way to Brittany. She was standing at a ski lift having the same thoughts I was presumably, as we agreed we didn't know where the group could be, so we headed back to the lodge. While I was by myself skiing I kept thinking that though not an unpleasant experience, how I could have avoided it all had I not been to prideful to admit that maybe I could use one hour of practice to refresh my feet how to slide on snow. Great lesson, thanks God! He knows my heart and I thank Him for the lesson given, as I decide that from now on I won't hesitate for help. The rest of the trip was very relaxing, despite the lead heavy feet and bitter cold. Olivia and I bonded as we hit the easy slopes talking over life plans and God's will. Nothing was more beautiful to me that day than sitting in the ski lift, miles above ground, surrounded by snow covered trees and listening to my theme song for the trip .As I skied, listening to John Mayer's 3x5, nothing could have felt more appropriate as I hummed along: "I'm writing you to get you up on places I've been...hoping I would see the world through both my eyes.../maybe I'll tell you all about it when I'm in the mood to lose my way with words.../ today skies are painted full of colors.../ and strange how clouds that look like mountains in the sky next to mountains anyway.../brought me back to life."
By the end of the trip Brittany, Elizabeth, Olivia, and I got to ski down the intermediate slopes multiple times with no hesitation, and I sit back now and think, when can i do it again someday? Thanks to God's magnificent creation and ever-present help as I shouted a few "Oh God"'s along the way, it is an experience I will never forget.
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