Heidi <[email protected]>

Hey

We went skiing yesterday. First of all, did you know, it uses ARMPIT
MUSCLES to ski? LOL As my aching body is reminding me today, eh?

Well, my kids all fell down more than they skied, and my friend and
her husband, who met us at Jackson Hole, were intent on giving them
instructions how to stand back up on skis: Parallel feet,
perpendicular to the slope...and everyone was getting frustrated with
Robby, because he couldn't get his skis right. Kept on saying "I know!
I know!" and sitting there with his ski tips crossed, or his legs
splayed, skis pointing opposite directions.

Anyway, when Katie plowed into me and knocked me over, I decided to
let my friends (more experienced skiers BY FAR) help my kids, and
went on a little ways to wait for my kids. By the time they caught up
with me, Katie's skis were off, and Robby was good at getting back
up, but tired of falling all the time, so he took his skis off, too.
We ended the day with my kids dinking around in the bunny hill area,
and I got a few more runs in.

I could post my own frustrations about the ineptitude of the Jackson
employees who told me to take the kids on the slope for their very
first ski experience. But I won't.

This morning, talking to my friend on the phone, I could hear her
frustration, because my kids weren't listening to her or her hubby. I
shook my head in dismal agreement. Too bad they didn't listen. It
made me feel bad that my friends were so frustrated about my kids'
unteachability. EVen the ski instructor who tried to help at one
point, shook his head and skied away.

So, I began to think of ways to help Robby, especially, see the
importance of listening when someone is trying to tell him how to do
something. I thought I'd make the ski day into a lesson on Following
Instructions, so I asked him about it. first of all, I was aware that
he had finally "gotten it" how to stand back up, so I asked him to
demonstrate the technique.

he showed me perfect form: parallel skis, squat, stand. So I
said "That's exactly what they were telling you to do! Were you
listening to them?"

"Yeah, but I wanted to do it myself." hmmm. When I asked if their
instructions were helping or frustrating him, he said "frustrating. I
figured it out okay." Everyone was frustrated: some, for having
instructions that they didn't think they needed, and some, for having
their instructions not followed.

Next time, it'll be bunny hill for the first hour, to learn
snowplowing and turning...and then maybe, the slope. And let him get
his butt off the snow his own self! And maybe we can still have that
talk about letting himself receive instruction from people who know
what they're talking about.

my main lesson: Robby will figure it out for himself, just let him.

peace, Heidi