Telemark!

If you haven't ever visited the northern Wisconsin ski mecca called Telemark, you really should. It is a throwback to the skiing heydey of the 70's. The lodge, with its woodpaneling, massive fieldstone fireplace, and sunken carpeted 'conversation pit' is unchanged from when my family visited in my youth. I felt like I should run into a red/yellow/brown ski-sweater clad person around every corner. I hate to say it, but most of the telemark lodgers have ditched wool for lycra. And really, there aren't so many lodgers. It's a bit of a ghost town on non-ski race weekends. Which is a shame because the ski trails are world class. You can ski right out the door of the lodge and onto over 100K of finely groomed exciting trails. The accessibility of the trails allowed us to get out with the kids several times a day. And they loved it! They are of that age where we can head out for a couple hours and there are no complaints. I think a big part of that is that we were with some of their best friends- and the trails were wide enough for all four boys to ski abreast of each other- they chatted the whole way- except for when the thrilling downhills caused them to interrupt their narrative with shouts of glee. It was a fabulous weekend where good friends, great weather, superior snow and decent health all came together to convince us to put our deposit down for next year. When we weren't on the trails, the adults relaxed in front of the Olympics while the boys carried out an intense session of 'the Telemark game'. We don't really know what that game entails, except for epic unchaperoned forays around the massive lodge, hiding clues and probably pestering the 5 other guests. But no one complained, so we let them carry on. There is talk that the lodge is up for sale and 'upgrades' might be in order. Kind of excited for that - the locker room by the pool is rather unsightly- but also a little sad. I am sure the 'Telemark game' will lose some luster if they replace the undulating carpet covered plywood halls with something more straight and narrow. And I do kind of like having the place to ourselves. But we shall see next year. I already have my ski sweater packed...

Feedback

Last weekend I found myself in Prior Lake giving a presentation to over 200 people. I don't like public speaking. But I had been talked into giving a little talk about my peace corps experience. A fellow Ole was heading up a big girl scout extravaganza in Prior Lake and needed a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer to introduce the girls to the organization. She contacted St. Olaf and they gave her my name. And then she emailed me, and signed off with an Um Yah Yah. I wanted to say no, but as an Ole, it is against the rules to deny the Um Yah Yah. And I am an Ole with much guilt. I didn't sing Um Yah Yah at my wedding. I didn't even marry an Ole. I haven't been back on campus for many many moons. So she got me. I said yes.
I dug up the old slides, even had them digitalized, then fashioned up a fancy powerpoint. I got down to the school about 3 minutes before the presenation was to start- a timeline habit I picked up while living in the Caribbean. She introduced me to the throngs of young (so young!!) girls and their parents. It was a tough crowd- from girls about 4 through 12, and then their well-manicured, carefully coifed moms. And a few dads. But I launched into it, got the parents laughing a bit, and proceeded through my powerpoint. When I was done, I was aghast to see that I had gone over the time I was given. By about 25%. Shoot. Hate to do that. But ever since breaking my wrist I have been watch-less and my timing is just generally off, I must admit. After the presentation we all watched an African drumming group and then the scouts were set free to visit a bunch of booths, including one I was sitting at. I spent some time answering questions from adults, who seemed to have been somewhat engaged in my presentation. And then came a sly little 2nd grader. She approached and said, "I know who you are!! You are that lady (lady? really?) who gave that LONG LONG speech." I replied, "I know, it got a little long, didn't it?" To which she responded, "Oh yeah. I was SOOO bored. I looked over at my friend and said, 'I am SO bored, are you bored????'" Luckily her mom distracted her before I heard her friend's response. Feedback from the mouths of babes- the most potent source.

The Heart of Winter

Last Saturday Jon, Eli, and I headed out for our second Luminary Loppet. Theo had (got! in his mind) to stay with grandparents because he hasn't been able to shake a fever. This event is held in conjunction with the Minneapolis Loppet- a whole weekend of fabulous ski events in the heart of Minneapolis. I hear that all of the events are amazing, but there is no way anything can top the Luminary. The organizers set up ice candle luminaries all the way around Lake of the Isles. Then, as the sun sets, they set thousands of skiers out on the trail. The path takes you by bonfires, snow and ice sculptures, trees aglow with hundreds of candle lanterns, fire dancers/jugglers, and smiling volunteers offering you coffee, cocoa, cookies. You shuffle around with every other cross country skier in the metro area, plus a bevvie of snowshoers and hikers, but the crowds are never an issue. It seemed like we knew every fifth person, and smiles were plastered on every face. For an hour and a half we puttered around the lake, thoroughly enjoying this time in the heart of winter.

Night ski

Jon and I have had the boys take cross-country ski lessons for a quite a few years now. They seem to tolerate them- and they actually enjoy and look forward to our annual ski weekend with friends- but that has always been more about the friends, less about the skiing. But something may be changing here. They sure don't like the friends any less- they are in high excitement mode for the upcoming adventure to Telemark and the games they will play- but they are getting much more excited about skiing as well. This year they are picking up some real new skills at lessons and the confidence is going up. This week, Eli came home from school and asked if we could go skiing. That night. So after a quick dinner the family headed out to Como in the dark. We had a lovely ski in the dim moonlight- with 100 of our fellow St. Paulites. Turns out that Tuesday evenings are 'Stride and Glide' adult lessons and they were out in force. But Como can accomodate tons of skiers- it is BusyTown after all. It was delightful to be plodding along with our little group and then to be surpassed by 15 silent skaters-- whooshing out the darkness and then disappearing again into the night. There is something quite beautiful about a group of graceful skate skiers skiiing along in unison. And the darkness enhanced that. Occasionally in the distance you could see a skier with a headlamp on- the arc of light moving swiftly over the snow, the skier invisible, but his/her power and grace evident in the gentle sway of the oncoming light. All in all it was a magical outing.

Stepping out

Even though it is only February, and early February at that, it is time to start thinking about summer plans. Typically my boys have done a week or two of daycamp out at the camp of my youth. They love it and have convinced quite a few of their friends to join them over the years. This year I raised the idea of going to the overnight camp. Eli was in right away if a friend would go with him. Theo did a bit more hemming and hawing. Yes, then a desperate No! Then a few days later, as I greeted him upon getting home from work he said, "Mom, I've made my decision. I am going to go to overnight camp. Forever." I immediately told him that there was no way that he was going forever- that was not fair! He said, "No, I'm not going forever, I made my decision forever. I am not going to change my mind again!!" Then back to the legos for a minute before a slight cock of the head and a seemingly offhand, "And I don't think you are going to survive it." How true how true. I have had no problem when they head off to the grandparents for a few nights, or even a week, but off to summer camp? I'm going to have to practice some deep breathing. Partly because I will miss my guys tremendously and this seems like such a step toward eventual independence, but maybe more so because I was once a counselor there and I know what goes on behind the scenes.....

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.

Lame

Our household is currently fairly lame. You see, two weeks ago, my spouse went in for some surgical repair for what is known as a sports hernia. I always thought that he might be too fit, and here's the proof. He would argue with that and bombard you with stats - but don't let him. And lighten up on those situps and crunches today so the same fate does not befall you. Anyway- he's slowly recovering but has his restrictions- including not lifting anything over 10 lbs. One week into his recovery I took the neighbor's dog for a walk- on a snowy icy day. Fell on my bum- but broke my fall with my left hand. Turns out that I really broke it- not the fall, but my wrist. So now I have my own restrictions. These have intersected with Jon's in amusing ways, but luckily our boys have stepped it up and are proving to be much more capable and independent than we originally thought. Kind of makes me wish I had slipped on the ice a few years ago.