Not just growing up, but maturing.

Been thinking a lot lately about how much you are maturing...

This is the winter you took up snowboarding. Your Dad outfitted you at the ski swap and signed you up for lessons as soon as the flyer came home in your backpack. Then, on Christmas day, he took you to the top of the bunny hill at Schuss, waited while you wrestled your boots into their bindings, and watched as you cut, sailed and tumbled down the hill.

A couple of hours later, you looked like this.

And you kept at it, January's single digit temps freezing your Dad and I into popsicles as we waited for you to get that boot into its binding at the top of every run. Until another of those moments. When your Dad encouraged you to make a few runs without us. While we warmed up inside the lodge.

Big step--boarding the O Park and taking the lift back up by yourself. You didn't hesitate. You went down. And came back up with a new friend, a local boy named Josh.


Though you haven't seen him since, you don't seem to be bothered by skiing the O Park alone whenever I'm ready to head in. If you want a few more runs, you take them without me.

Believe me when I say that this was a big step. For you and I both. And my friend Sheila was right...there is great, great joy in watching you fly free.

Since then, you've hosted a friend skiing at the club and you've joined a friend skiing at Treetops. While we looked on. I was proud of the way you handled yourself. You earned this newfound freedom G.

You also overcame the humiliation and disappointment of your first group boarding lesson. Returning for your second lesson with an "I'll just make the best I can of it" attitude. I was proud of you. A lot of things combined to make this a disaster, but you simply looked forward. It is an attitude that will serve you well.

You are maturing, yes. And it is a cool thing to watch. I can see it, there in your eyes.

12.25.10













02.22.11