Skiing. It is one of the world’s most popular winter sports. For some, it involves beautiful scenery, exhilarating speed, skill and talent. For others, it represents uncomfortable cold, steep terrain, and risk of bodily harm.
Family. One of the world’s most important relationships. For some, it involves encouraging love, inspiring fun, and a life guiding foundation. For others, it represents hurt, embarrassment, and haunting dis-functionality.
So what do you have when you combine the two? What takes place when you attempt to do one with the other?
This week, I am joining my family on a week-long ski vacation in Breckenridge, Colorado. For an entire seven days we are living together again. This time in a ski-in/ski-out town home. I am extremely grateful and excited for this time with my loved ones. As you can see from that one line, I am one of the people who sees the first description of family. And now that I have invested a few years into learning how to ski, I can say the same about skiing – I am of the first opinion previously noted. Before you get ahead of me though, realize that there are elements of the second opinions of both skiing and family that do exist in my life. Maybe this means that it has a lot to do with perspective: does a person focus on the negative in things or on the positive? And of course the other elements and factors need to be taken into consideration and they do play a powerful role.
Over this next week, I am going to write about what I observe in my own family while we are on our family ski trip. While my writings will be influenced by my own personality traits (which tend to be on the positive and optimistic side), I will do my best to observe and note what occurs when you combine skiing with family. As you follow along, feel free to share about your experiences with skiing and your family. And as much as being objective is valued, let’s make a point to have our biases and perspectives recognized and fully used. If you’re optimistic and idealistic, then read this and then respond with that perspective. If you’re realistic and pessimistic, then read and share through that lens.