Sitting on the chair lift with all my boys was surreal. I couldn't get all of us in a selfie so I had to break it up. Hank and Sam on one side, Max on the other. Randy was hiking up to the rope tow to wait for Sam. Just the fact we all got off the lift with no problem was an accomplishment. We quickly skied down to meet Randy and he took Sam while I skied with Max and Hank. Skiing with my boys is one of the best parts of being a mom. We were having so much fun when I got a text from Randy saying he was going to take Sam home. After lunch, the 3 of us decided to go up to the top of Arrowhead. The boys were skiing so well, I knew they could handle it. I've given up trying to take the edgy wedgies off Hank. He feels comfortable with them on and likes to ski. I'm not going to mess that up. As we neared the top of the lift, Hank didn't raise his ski tips and they went right into the side of the mountain snapping his edgy wedgies in half. To say he was traumatized by the event would be a huge understatement. Once we got his ski's back on and his tears dried up I realized we were at the top of the mountain with no Randy and no edgy wedgies. I couldn't panic, I had to hold it together for the boys. Hank was freaking out enough for the both of us.
Max immediately started cruising down the mountain. I screamed at him to stop. He had no idea where to go. Luckily he stopped before he headed down a black diamond run. I reassured Hank that he could do it. It was a painful trip as Hank fell every single time he turned left. He was so frightened of not being able to stop, His fear prevented him from skiing like I know he can. Max patiently waited at the bottom for what seemed an hour. By the time we caught up with Max, he was so frustrated he just took off. There was no way I could leave Hank so I just hoped Max didn't get lost. Hank was crying, yelling at me, and vowing to never ski again the entire way down. I was exhausted and defeated when a stupid snowboarder clipped the back of my ski's as he went by me, causing me to fall. As much as I wanted to quit right then and there, we had to get to the bottom. After an hour and a half we finally made it down and was relieved to see Max. He was uncontrollably crying, sure that we had left him. As we walked to our car, all 3 of us were in tears. I'm so afraid Hank will never ski again. This was the last thing I wanted to have happen. We were supposed to have a beautiful day, bonding and having fun. Hopefully this experience will make all of us stronger and it won't become the last time Hank ever goes skiing. It's going to be awhile before I get the courage to take the kids up there again.
I kept thinking about Grandpa as I drove home. How did he teach all of us to ski? He was a good 30 years older than me too. I miss him so much it hurts, especially on days like this. He would know what to say to make me feel better. I know he had days like this with us and we all ended up loving to ski. I could have used his help today, that is for sure.
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