If At First You Don't Succeed

you may remember my skiing experience last year.   i totally failed out of ski school, heath was having back spasms and having to get all of us from one ski school to the next.  the kids....well, the kids had a really good time.  i mean, zane was only 3 and cried every single day going to ski school.  i would even go up the mountain to watch them ski and he would still be crying.  the instructors would just push him down a hill and he would cry the whole way down.  sad...yet funny.  last year's blog, Swiss Family tells you a little more about it.  

we ended up making great memories and have some amazing pictures to show but i just knew that skiing was not in the cards for me.  when heath mentioned that we go again this year i about gagged but held it all together.  i know he loves to ski and the children actually did really well last year.  i would love for them to have lessons each year so that they do not become like their mom....a ski school dropout.  i half-heartedly agreed to go and the plans were made.  we were going to Peisey-Vallandry, France.  ski trip, take 2.  heaven help us.

i will be honest, i lost a bit of sleep over this trip.  i could envision one (or more) of my children flying off the side of a mountain.  those beautifully snow covered mountains are amazing, yes they are, but they are slippery....and they are high!  and if you fall off, they have no mercy.

it didn't help much more when i awoke bright and early on the day of our departure to coughing/retching sounds. and they were not coming from my own body in dread of our ski journey.  it was heath.  doubled over at the toilet with some sort of convulsive stomach bug.  he swore it was something he ate but i knew better....i'd just gotten over a bit of a stomach bug myself and i knew the bug was now devouring my poor husband.

great.

immediately, i knew it was up to me to get the crew going.  one look at heath's pale face and white lips was a dead give away that if we were going to make this trip happen, it was only up to me.  buckle up, kids, mommy's in total control and it's going to be a bumpy ride.  

i'm not sure how we did it, but we made it safely to our destination.  and it only took a ten minute cab ride, a 30 minute train ride, a 2 hour plane trip and a 3 hour bus to get there!  heath was beginning to gain some color and he could mumble a few words without gagging.  things were really looking up!  score one for the wilson family!

ski school came quickly the next day for our big three.  they were excited and ready.  even zane was happy and upbeat about the lessons.  my, what a year of growth can do!  once we'd gotten them settled with their instructors, we took echo to her class where she would be able to play while we all skied and took lessons.  only she could not be emitted without her "doctor's consent".

say what?

apparently, all children under 4 need a form from their doctor to insure their health.  now, i'm a stickler for healthy kids so, i get it.  but the request for this consent form was in such small print that we needed a magnifying glass to see it.

so off to a french doctor we went.  beads of sweat formed on my forehead as we sat in a tiny, foreign, hot, congested room full of sick adults and children.  the germs were everywhere.  i could have sworn that they were crawling all over me.  i'm sure i looked like a total schizophrenic as i scooted to the left and right to get away from others.  at one point, i would not even sit in the chair because of a lady who was hacking up her lung and allowing her snot-infested child to play at my knees.  i was afraid to make eye-contact with anyone for fear that i would catch something through sight.

i looked over at heath who was sweating as well, only his sweat was because his stomach was still churning and this sauna of a room was not helping his nausia at all!  don't worry, honey, one day we will laugh about this...

after getting the doctor's clear and approval, we took echo to her class.  we were too late to begin our snowboarding lessons.  yes, that's right, snowboarding...i couldn't ski so i was going to take snowboarding lessons.  i mean, clearly, having your feet strapped onto one board with no poles seems easier than having two skies and two poles to hang on to.  (what was i thinking!)

i breathed a sigh of relief!  echo's lack of paperwork had been a blessing in disguise.  i had totally gotten out of my lessons!  i was free!!!

so i went to the spa for a massage.  that's right friends, mama don't waste no time when it comes to relaxing.  i was on it!  this was going to be the best ski trip ever.  i would just spa it each day.  no worries!

and then, later that evening, heath came to me with the news....he'd signed me up for ski school on tuesday.  he excitedly told me that the snowboarding school was full and that since i'd missed my first day, it would be difficult to come in on day 2.  but since i'd had ski school last year, i could easily jump in on day 2 for skiing!....

oh....sweet.

i gave heath a gentle smile and told myself i would give it one last try for him.  i would go to ski school for about an hour and then i would say that it was not for me.  i'm athletic in many other things in life and so it's okay that i'm a total loser at skiing.  i had already accepted this fact and it was only a matter of time before would heath accept it as well.

that night, the kids were kind enough to give me some tips on how to ski (and stay alive).  i tucked them in, thanking them and pretending to be excited and brave.  but deep down, my stomach was churning and my head was spinning.  bring on the nightmares all through monday night.

i arrived early to ski school because i was a nervous nerd and just wanted to get it over with.  as i walked toward my area to meet my ski class, i was given a lump of sugar that was dipped in some liquid.  they said something nicely in french, smiled and dropped the sugar cube in my mouth.  the liquid turned out to be some sort of hard liquor.  i laugh now as i think back to it.  i'm going to be honest, my first thought was, "well, maybe this will help take the edge off".  as the burn settled in my throat and the sugar coated my mouth i told myself this was too funny not to just go with it.  i told myself to give it 100%.  let's just have fun with this mistye, if we come out with a broken bone, we'll just add it to our list of "firsts"!

to make matters worse, the instructor looked almost identical to my cruel and crazy french instructor from last year.  he walked right up and began speaking some random words in french.  i about tucked tail to run but decided to suck it up and get through the day.

once we got to the top of the mountain, i felt as though this was something to overcome.  maybe it was my sweet liquid courage talking but i really felt as though i could do this.  i wanted to conquer my fears.  i wanted to sleep through the night without thinking of slipping off the snowy slope or busting my face on the ice.

bring it, mr french instructor.  i'm going all in!  i may be a 36 year old mama of 4 with all sorts of freakish fears about this sport but i'm going to rock it like it's 1985.  i may not look good doing it, but by golly, i'm going to do it.

and let me just tell you.  i did do it.  i did it down the bunny slopes, i did it down the training slopes, and i did it on the blue slopes.  i even did it down part of a really scary red slope...but that was not on purpose and i don't care to relive that moment so we won't go into it...

i skied tuesday-friday and loved almost (almost) every minute of it.  there were moments when i would see my life flash before my eyes and in those moments i can't say it was too enjoyable but i fought through it and came out the victor!

i can ski!  and i even broke away from my instructor and skied down the mountain with heath on the last day.  just batman and robin through the snow.  i'd like to say it was romantic and peaceful to be able to final ski together.  but it wasn't.  it was more like a freakishly scared cat, claws all out, just trying to stay alive, scaling my way with all four paws spread in every direction....but we managed.  it was "fun".  and next time we go together, it will be even better.

Maddox and Reese loved the slopes!

the kids did amazing as well.  i would get to see reese and maddox in their little duck lines behind their instructors just whipping it through the hills.  i was so proud of them.  (and so scared.)  it was a true test of letting go of my fears and finding peace on those mountain tops.  i'm so glad it worked out the way it did!

our family has had some major adventures together over the last couple of years.  this one definitely goes down as one of our biggest adventures together.  i love that i'm constantly learning.  sometimes i get the opportunity to learn new things right along with my children, which is one of the coolest experiences i've ever had.  to get to see things through their eyes right along with them.  and i've learned the value in never giving up and fighting for that inner peace, no matter what we are dealing with.

we are already planning to ski next year somewhere in the states.  i hear those slopes calling my name.  and they are speaking english.


If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try again.   
William E. Hickson

Reese loved skiing from the start.
She couldn't wait to get back out there
each day!

Maddox did great this year.  He skied for over
2.5 straight hours one day.  

Zane was all smiles this year!  

Echo as a tiger while we skied.  Suffering from a
major ear infection, she was a real trooper
the whole week.  Next year, maybe she'll
be out on the slopes!