With the exception of ice skating, I can't say I have any natural ability or strong and loving interest in any of the outdoor winter recreational activities. Usually I get wimpy and chilly and have grown to prefer exercising inside during the winter.
Yet each time I go out to ski or snowshoe, there's always a thankfulness afterwards. For the woods and land and natural beauty that surrounds. And for the ability and knowledge to exercise outdoors, to know how to ski or hike or skate.
I had been meaning to go nordic skiing with the students where I work for the last couple of months and had even had my skis in my car at all times, but the ski team timing was always challenging to my workday or to the daylight left, or I was just super wimpy. Until recently! I threw my wimpiness aside and went out on the trails with one of the students who I had been promising for a long time I would ski with.
As a side note, her skiing talent resembles that of an Olympian. Despite some initial struggles with conquering hills, I found a deep peace and calm while on the trails. The feeling of weightlessness and thrill when steering down each hill brought a freedom I hadn't experienced in a while.
When my eyes began to water because of the cold and the speed I was traveling down the hills, my vision blurred and I remember knowing that all was well. I could only see a sea of white but I knew that there were senses beyond vision to know place and purpose.
The next day, I joined a friend in backcountry skiing. We brought his two large dogs and climbed higher until skiing downhill, just as fast as the previous day, but on much shorter and heavier skis and using a different technique for stopping and turning.
The same experience I had the previous day arrived. I was so happy to be skiing again. I shared both experiences with individuals who were so kindly adamant and willing and interested and committed to showing me the joyous side of winter I had chosen to forget.
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