(Host)
As someone who works in new media every day, commentator Rich Nadworny
likes a challenge – and he firmly believes that it’s never too late to
teach an old dog new tricks. So this winter, despite a notable lack of
cooperation from Mother Nature, he tried something that – for him – was
completely different.
(Nadworny) We parents are a funny lot. We either want our kids
to have exactly the same kind of experiences that we had when we were
kids. Or, we want them to have completely different experiences than we
had.
I want my kids to like a lot of the same things I did. I
guess that’s why I’ve made them watch the entire original Star Trek
series. Twice. Or why I keep buying them Bit O Honey candy down at
Charlie’s Boathouse, even though I know it’s terrible for their teeth.
On the other hand, one of my failures as a kid growing up in Vermont was that I never learned to downhill ski.
I
grew up cross-country skiing instead, something I still love doing.
When I lived in Stockholm, I could hop on the subway near my downtown
apartment and 10 minutes later I’d be out in the woods on groomed and
lit trails.
With my kids growing up in Vermont, though, I didn’t
want them to miss what I missed. So when they were younger, my wife
and I took them to Cochran’s where they learned to ski from our old
Olympic stars. They loved it. They loved it so much, that I realized
that the only thing holding them back from a lifelong hobby of skiing …
was me.
So last year, I went skiing at a ski resort with my
kids. The only other time I’d been skiing at a resort was when I was six
years old. This time, though, everyone had so much fun that we bought
our passes for 2012 year right away. And I got ready for my first year
of skiing, ever.
My
rookie year was great. The weather didn’t stop me from dragging
my grumbling kids up to the mountain each weekend. Once they got there,
they had a blast. But I think I’m had far more fun than the rest of
the family. We’re all still mostly beginner/intermediate, but we’ve
gotten a lot better than we were a few months ago.
Of course, Vermont set a record, or close to it,
for minimal snowfall this year. Thank god for man made snow! And by
mid-march the season was effectively over.
We did time a
great ski trip, however, up to Jay Peak right after they got hit with a 40-inch
blizzard. Skiing in powder through the glades was so much fun that the
kids grumbled even more when we went back to our regular mountain with
man made snow.
So after all of these years growing up and living
in Vermont, I get it. I get why people shlep up here from New York, New
Jersey and beyond every weekend. I get why kids take the ski bus from
school each week. My kids might not end up as Olympic skiers, but one
thing I am sure of: their childhood in Vermont is already a lot
different than mine was.