Friends and Family

She was slightly nervous to even ask the question, and she felt a twinge of guilt and fear that she might hurt the feelings of others in the family, but at twelve years old, she felt a need to spread her wings a bit. ” Dad, Mom, would it be ok if Jennifer came skiing with us?” The smiles on both of their faces answered both her question and her fears. ” of course she can come, we would all love to have her join us!”

They arrived at their house at the mountain in the evening, and the only instructions she received the next morning were – meet us at the lodge for lunch at noon, and be back at the house by 4 pm. Jennifer was her best friend and a very good skier as well, and the two girls made one run after another, racing each other, joking with each other, passing one another and tapping the other one with a ski pole on the way past. On the way up the lift, they would talk about school, talk about other friends, talk about which boy they thought was the cutest. Occasionally, they saw her parents, her brother, or grandparents on the same run or in the lift line – often enough for her to feel secure, but at enough of a distance for her to feel some independence. When she and Jennifer returned in the afternoon to the house, she felt both tired and excited; tired from the exertions of the day, and excited by the presence of her friend and the trust and belief in her that her parents had shown.

Snow sports: The Family Tie That Binds!