Me on Skis

Brrrrrr . . . The title of this blog should be enough to send shivers up and down anyone's spine. Me on skis? What was I thinking???

To say the least, it wasn't one of my brightest ideas to date. But I was up to the challenge, or so I thought. An almost 40 year old, overweight woman, with weak ankles, really should have considered the possible ramifications of such a venture more carefully. Thank goodness I came out of it relatively unscathed. Just a couple sore ankles, a wet bottom and a wounded pride is all.

I've never been that graceful on my feet in the first place; let alone strapping two long, narrow pieces of composite materials to my boots. That didn't go over so well. I promptly fell down with a thunderous boom! It didn't help that I was standing on a slight incline while placing the toe of my boots into the bindings. Not such a great idea for a novice cross-country skier. Shoot, it's probably not a good idea for a seasoned skier either. I went down faster than Clark Griswold on saucer sled waxed down with non-chloric silicone based kitchen lubricant!!

Much giggling ensued as I felt my face burst into flames! I'm sure I turned a few shades of red. This is pride wound No. 1.

As I struggled to regain my composure and get back on my feet, the cold snow began to soak through my jeans getting my bottom wet. This would be pride wound No. 2! It was near impossible to get back up! Eventually, I had to unhook the boots from the skis to get vertical again. Of course, then, the whole process started all over again! It took a little getting used to, but I finally managed to stay upright.

Unfortunately, the camera was in my pocket and we were unable to get a photo of the epic fail on my first attempt at staying upright on my skis! (A convenient misfortune for me, he he!) We did, however, get a shot of me actually standing, with my skis strapped on, my poles in hand and ready to go!

Now that my skis were on and I was managing to stay up, Rita got her skis on and we set out to the fields. I followed Rita as she made the tracks in the snow, forming a trail for me to follow.

Bless her little heart! My dear friend and trail guide kept looking over her shoulder to make sure I was still upright and moving along behind her.

It was a little difficult because we were skiing through a corn field and the corn stalks were still under the snow. So I toppled over again half way out. Pride wound No. 3!!!

After removing my feet from the skis again, I was able to stand up and hook up. Then we were off for the rest of our trek! I did NOT fall again!! Which is saying a lot, because we still had the rest of the way out and then to come all the way back. I have to say, I'm impressed with myself. I never would have thought I could do it. Especially not after the topsy turvy start I had back at the house.

All in all, it was a whole lot of fun. The best part of the adventure would have to be spending an enjoyable afternoon with one of my MANY cherished friends!

As for me and skis, I don't think we have a future together. We probably won't meet again for a very, very, very long time. But at least I can say I tried.

Hey, that wasn't even on my list of 40 things to do before 40! I guess I should have added that to the list.