I’m pup-sitting this good boy.

Now that the busy family days of Christmas are behind us, filled with sweet memories and fun, I’m off on an adventure of my own making. I’m house and puppy-sitting for my daughter. For a few days, I have family and friends with me and I’m going to attempt to ski after too many years away from it.

We used to be a ski family before swimming took over our lives. My husband and I would trek up to Big Bear more than once a week (before kids) and ski with a group of friends who lived next to the slopes. Those are some of the special New Year’s Day memories of waking up early and being the first to arrive on the slopes with our friends. We tear across the mountain from one side to the other. We’d end the day with big family dinners in our friend’s home and New Year’s Eve was always lobster flown in from Maine.  After kids, we’d put the kids in ski school for a few hours so we could get some good runs in. We spent several holidays in Colorado skiing with my brother’s family.

Then swimming happened and we no longer had time for the mountains. For non-swimmers, the sport is literally 50 weeks a year, 6 days per week training plus weekend meets that can last one day to five. Once the kids are serious, there’s no skipping workouts and skiing became an afterthought.

So what’s my adventure today? I’m going to hit the slopes. My son and his girlfriend want to ski too (it will be her first time ever). Plus our good friends who survived the Thompson fire have joined us as well. Yesterday was a travel day and it was exhausting for everyone. After a good night’s sleep, we’re all ready to ski, although there’s not much snow. I’ll be honest that I’m apprehensive after not skiing for a decade or so. We may try cross-country skiing today which is something I’ve never done. But we will be making memories.

At one point, the pool took over our lives and we quit being a ski family. Now it’s time to return back to earlier days and hit the slopes.

What adventures do you have planned for the New Year?