The Truth About My Slalom Trials

They are not happening. Yes, I have had a driver, there have been blue skies, I’ve ridden in the boat and served as spotter for everyone else – but the truth is, I haven’t gotten back up on that ski.

You know what they say about horses and falling? The same goes for slalom skis too. It took two adults to pull my feet out of that ski last week, and when my leg finally did come free, I was surprised my foot was still attached.

The best part is my kiddo friend, the awesome skier, has temporarily left the lake, so there’s been no reason for me to try again.

Then, I got an email from her, with the title, “money back guarantee.” She says, “I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before, but I’ve got a way to get you drinking that champagne before July – and we don’t even have to go above 20 mph.”

What does she have in mind? Part of me really doesn’t want to know, as my courage has flown right out the window.

My heart lurched. How can I avoid her when she gets back to the lake?

Still, the image of slalom skiing kept lingering in the back of my mind – reminding me that if I didn’t get that ski on my foot again soon, my courage would go out the window, and the next thing I know, I’d turn 70, and that would be it.

So, I decided to do the only thing I could do. I picked up the two skis I used last summer, and jumped into the ice water lake. The water was so cold that it took my breath away, until some little tremor started down at my toes, worked its way up my leg, my chest, and finally came out of my mouth as a little scream. Once that was done, I effortlessly put the skis on my feet – much easier than the slalom ski. This I could do. My husband came around with the boat, slack out, and I timidly said in a whisper, “ready.”

He heard me. The nice part was, as he took off, I went up. Easy. No pain in my arms, and no gulps of water going down my throat. But unfortunately, I was still scared. The boys kept telling me to take one arm off the handle – but I couldn’t even do that.

That’s when I wondered why I was so adamant about slalom skiing in the first place. I need to keep doing this – until I get used to standing up on water, two skis is really all that is possible. Maybe here, I’ll get the courage to slalom. So, after a few minutes, I thought I’d try lifting a leg and dropping a ski – and that ain’t happening.

The best part of the whole experience was this: I ended up with dry hair. When I was done, I simply dropped the rope, and dropped straight down – no face plant – and while the life jacket held me up, I ended up with dry hair after I skied.

Meanwhile, I have other people to teach and encourage.