Yesterday we went to the lake. It was a beautiful day with nary a cloud in the sky. The temperature topped at about 90. Gordon took us girls; Laura, Jess, Meghan and myself. Laura skied better than I've ever seen. I thought of the first time she got up on a slolom ski just three years ago. She has really mastered it and was throwing up quite a spray with her turns.
Meghan wakeboarded and skied, Jess skied and they both rode the red tube for a wild and funny ride. Gordon had an evil smile on his face the whole time and had way too much fun. At one point, Jess went flying off the tube in the sitting position and skipped backwards 5 times across the water. Another time, they both went flying with their arms up like Superman. Oh, how I wish I'd had my camera with me!
I usually only ski when it is the "trifecta"; a perfect blend of smooth water, high temperatures and something else I can't remember right now:). I battled in my mind wanting to/not wanting to. The temperature had dipped somewhat but as we sat and ate, the water got perfectly still and so, against my better judgement, I went for it.
First, when I got in the water (it felt a little chillier than usual - even with a wetsuit), I banged my left ankle on the ski and it HURT. I got ready, though and gave the go ahead. The rope jerked from my hands so suddenly that I hardly knew what happened. Gone was my streak of perfect starts for the summer. Gone was my streak of only one start from the water.
"What did you do", I asked Gordon when he brought the rope around.
"Nothing different".
On the second try, I got up but it seemed laborious to me. That is the only word for it. And then, gone was the calm water - a boat was coming our way.
"I can get a couple of turns in before his wake hits", I thought and went for it. The second turn landed me right on my face in the water, head first. Gone was my other streak of skiing and not getting my hair wet.
I had to try again. By this time, the water was full of boat wake and it was a tough ski. It felt strangely weird and out of control. When I'd finally had enough, I chucked the rope, Scott style, and slid into the water.
When the boat came around for me, everyone was laughing hysterically. Apparently, after my fall, my head had gathered all of my hair from the side/back and deposited it up on my head like a Borg or something. It took a while to fix.
Back in the boat, I was telling Laura, "Look at this welt on my ankle, the water was so cold, the water was so rough, I'm freezing...."
Wah, wah wah.....I realized I was making excuses. That's when I said to Laura, "Maybe I got old since my last ski." Maybe the turning point happened sometime during the last three weeks.
Apparently, the third thing in the trifecta is a factor that I can't ignore. What was it? I think it could be the key to my ski.
One thing is for sure; I can't get back out there and try soon enough.
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5 comments:
I remember my "OLD" hitting me last year on New Years Day at the ICE rink! It was my idea to take the whole family and I was pretty excited about it. BUt when on the ice I felt so shaky and weird and was nervous about every move. About ten times around and then I did a real nice face plant that gave me a hip hematoma and banged me up like no other. Where did my muscle co ordination go? dang it. I know how you feel but I am not going back on the ice.
It's an interesting stage isn't it? You want to stay young and active. You desire to still "push" the boundaries a bit, but you need to have wisdom to know exactly where to draw the line - in BOTH directions.
Thank heaven water is more forgiving than other surfaces!
Your story was adorable. I could imagine it all in my mind's eye.
The best part of it all was how you laughed at the entire thing! I still don't think you're old, but it was a great one-liner to add to the collection.
No way are you old. Maybe calender years are adding up (I'm there with you...) but age is so much a frame of mind now. I know our parents had to be old by the time their kids were grown, getting married, having babies. But not us! I KNOW I'm younger in my mind than my parents at this age. And I know you are too. Did that make sense? I also know it's not a "me" thing, it's our generation's mentality or something. I am, however, worried about that third factor that you can't remember...they say the mind is the first to go. :D
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