‘Today’

A Boy And His Sports

Can’t you just feel and smell this picture?

The warm sunshine on our faces, the +2 degrees temperature, the slight bit of cool and crisp feel to the air and still, some spots of untouched pow that got snagged…by us…today was a great day.

“Mom, I can’t wait to show you how much I’ve improved!”, said Luke…about 30 times since we all went skiing/riding last about a month ago.

Luke’s been up the hill but the last time we were on the hill together was in December.

At that time, Luke had an upgrade to new(to him) skis. They were Braden’s that he used for maybe a season and a half when he was little. Sitting in the garage until last month, they had been too long for Luke to use them safely and well until this year.

Last month when he used them for the first time, they obviously felt different. They were longer than he was used to, twin-tip style (which he never had before), it was about -15 degrees outside, was our first day on the hill this year and it was the end of a long driving day.

But we had to get in at least one run before the sun went down.

We got last chair for our first run of the season.

So, not only was Luke a little rusty, he was on new equipment and fresh ski legs.

Although the run was good and we glad we pushed to make it happen, naturally it was slightly frustrating for Luke and he was really cold. He came away from that evening in a good mood, though, and that gave me high hopes for the rest of the season.

‘Make it or break it’ is all in the first impression and mood with kids…isnt’ it? (and maybe the difference between a full or empty stomach too).

As I said, Luke has been up a few times in between then and now and mentioned he has gradually increased his skiing ability. A new-found confidence he hadn’t had before, it’s totally adorable and heart-melting to hear and watch your kids when they are proud of themselves for accomplishing a personal feat.

Luke’s always been big into action sports though not huge on pressure, mandatory practices or ultra-competitive vibes. He goes big and goes hard at everything he does. At the skate park, for example, he will bail hard, come home with scrapes, cuts and crusty tears — throw an ice pack and some Band-Aids on himself and be back out there the next day.

His thoughts and ideas often move faster than his body is able, but I think he may be learning safe and healthy limits…albeit slowly.

Grateful for it all, today was a great day.

-Becky