Since I was a young girl, skiing has been my favorite activity. Our family started off skiing at my uncle’s house in Vermont, then we drove farther north to Canada for the guarantee of better snow and good exchange rates. My mom shared her love of skiing with me, and so when I was most stressed out during finals time in college and med school, she would say “I know it’s so hard right now…but you’ll get through this week. Close your eyes… and think about skiing.”  And it worked. From my cramped room or the crowded library, I would daydream about skiing. Somehow, the cold didn’t bother me nearly as much as it does now (or more likely, my parents wouldn’t allow us to complain as much as our children do).

Shortly after my second child was born, my parents bought a condo in Bromley Village, near Manchester Vermont. It has grown to be an indispensable part of our family’s world. Initially, I thought how great it would be that my children would ski consistently at such young ages and that they would become phenomenal skiers, much better than my sisters and me.

Then reality set in. Getting children dressed and out the door for skiing is brutal, particularly for children who have tactile sensitivities and want their gloves tucked into their jackets “just so” and, by the way, it’s impossible to find seamless ski socks. But we did it, sweating buckets, cursing, and hoping that it would pay off when they actually started to enjoy it.  And once they did, it was fun, even if there was a disproportionate ratio of work to fun. Honestly, the days we didn’t ski for whatever reason –moody boys, weather, etc., was ok with me. In some ways, a no ski day was a win as well: Less complaining, fewer ski injuries, not to mention less expensive, especially for the days when they would want to quit after a few runs because it was too cold.

After diabetes, skiing became incredibly challenging.

-insulin pumps are incompatible with ski bibs and most ski clothing

-cold weather requires a different candy/drink supply to treat low blood sugars. Juice packs, skittles, starbursts’ will freeze

– the glucometer will MALFUNCTION because it is too cold; need to go into lodge to warm it up

-once the glucometer has warmed up to work again, your child will have a meltdown because he can’t have a hot chocolate with a BG of 400, and the sugar-free hot cocoa is “awful”

-until recently, difficult to find GF food in the lodge

So, the skier’s dilemma: Why ski?  Now that my kids have grown into teenagers, it has been way more fun, and I enjoy every minute. The best days are when I can ski with my sister and their kids, and my parents will often snowshoe from the condo to meet us on the mountain. I am content with the fact that my children LOVE to ski, and still ski with me. Hands down, it’s the best family activity I can think of.

Why ski? After all, our family could certainly have done without the broken arm, finger, and, most seriously, my mom’s traumatic brain injury.

               -It can be exhilarating, breathtakingly beautiful, fun, and liberating

               -enjoying the break from our phones and other technology

               -many different chairlift groupings leading to spontaneous conversations

Although, I must admit, during my periods of greatest stress, I no longer think of skiing, I think of the beach…