More Gore

Yesterday was Cole's second full day of ski lessons at Gore Mountain. We coerced Rick into coming this time - a miracle considering the temperature gauge in the car read -10 at one point on the way up. Let's just say Rick is a fair weather skier, at best. He still hasn't decided if the thrill of the run is worth all the layers, stiff boots, and cold extremities! But, he was a trooper and we had a fun day. The extreme cold temperatures dried out the snow - it was as close to good powder as we get out here - we're normally skiing on ice granules. Best of all, though, was the end of the day - we picked Cole up from his lesson a little early and rewarded his hard work with a ride to the top on the gondola - something he's wanted to do since he saw the cool ride in the sky. It reminded me of a story told in a talk at church recently - the sister speaking said that when she was a young girl, 5 or 6, her dad decided that she was ready for the chair lift, and even though she was scared to the point of tears, which she hid from her dad, she agreed to go up on the lift with him because she loved him and trusted him. Come to find out she had no idea how to get off the lift and in her child's mind, she thought you had to jump off from way up high, but she bravely trusted in her dad and went up anyway. Well, keep in mind Cole has only been on the bunny hill up to this point, and his little eyes just kept getting bigger and bigger as the gondola ride goes on forever and he's seeing the boulder covered terrain below - with no idea that there is a green trail off to the side that will take us down safely. We just kept assuring him that he would be fine, and despite what his eyes were telling him, he trusted us. And he did great - what a perfect ending to a fun day! Nothing beats the feeling of watching your kids bravely face a challenge and find out they've got what it takes to succeed.