Willpower

Earlier in January we had a day that was sunny and above freezing- gorgeous January weather. I took the boys up to Como park for a lovely ski. I do far prefer to ski in the woods, but Como's figure 8's and plentiful horseshoes in their trails makes it an optimal destination when skiing with slower skiers and still hoping for a workout. Anytime we came to a big U-bend in the trail, the boys would cut across and I would ski around and (eventually) catch up. I think the next time we try this I may never catch back up.

Anyway- we had a delightful ski in perfect conditions. The boys were getting very confident on the hills- even old Eli eased up on the granny approach he had been utilizing lately. Then we got to the last hill of the day. It is quite steep- from the top you can't see part of it below the lip- but straight with a long gentle finish. Eli went first, wobbled, but made it. Theo followed. 3/4's of the way down, one leg got away from him and he bit it. He laid facedown for awhile, then untangled limbs from skies and started off again- only back up the hill! He was determined to make it down. After try 5, I took him aside and pointed out that every time he puffed back up to the top he was getting more tired, which was making his end goal even more elusive. That, and Eli and I both had to pee. He would not hear of quitting- tears were gathering in the corners of his eyes, but not spilling over. He turned away from me and trudged back up. At one point a man went down while we were waiting for Theo. When he wiped out at my feet I recognized him as my next door neighbor. I told him that we were going to be there until Theo mastered the hill, and if our car wasn't back out front by nightfall, could he please alert Jon as to where we where?

Try 7 was the lucky one- Theo made it to the down to the flats. He gave me a brief triumphant glare, then skied off. But after a few strides he dropped one pole behind him, then the other, then tipped right over, face first, on to the ground. He lay there for several minutes- I think in a trance of pure relief. Eli and I shared his relief, but we left him there on the ground as we hightailed it to the biffies. Theo eventually collected himself and followed. The whole sitation left me in awe of Theo's willpower. And a bit worried for our future....

Here's a shot of Theo doggedly heading back to the top. Eli -in orange- is pleading with me to make him stop.