When I was 18, I decided to learn to snowboard. Back in the 90’s, snowboarding wasn’t a popular sport. This was when nobody wore a helmet, and baggy snowboarding pants were hard to come by.

From the moment I got on a board, I fell in love with it. I spent countless hours falling and climbing back up, until I finally learned the balance. The feeling of freedom and wind on my face is addictive. Over the years, I got better and faster. I loved it more. The downside is, I tend to get pretty bashed up when I do fall.

Now that I’m almost 40, I have finally admitted to myself that perhaps it’s time to start preserving this rack of old bones. And timing worked out well that Josh started learning to ski this year, so I figured it’s time for me to hang up the snowboard, and learn to ski.

I am actually having fun learning to ski. It is such a civilized sport. As a snowboarder, I spent a lot of time on my butt, trying to get my bindings done up. As a skier, I can ski right off the chair lift and be ready to go.

Skiing with Josh is a lot of fun. He can pretty well keep up behind me. Skiing with Savanna is completely different–it’s actually good for me. I hold her between my legs and ski down together. It forces me to stay low and make wider turns, actually focusing more on my own technique.

I still go snowboarding, and still love it as much as I did the first day. I hope one day to be able to ski as fast as I can snowboard.