It worked

OK, so I learned to ski from a book.

So a lot of people over the years have laughed out loud over that, but it was "Ski in Six Days" by Billy Kidd and it got me going.

And it's better to learn from a book than from a boyfriend standing over you saying "see how easy it is to turn?" "just lean into the hill" "put pressure on the outside edge" and other things that don't really help when you're sitting at the top of a mountain with nowhere else to go but what appears to be straight down and no way down that doesn't look slippery considering what's attached to your boots. Because that's where boyfriends take most of their friends after teaching them how to put their skis on -- to the top of a hill on a run that's marked intermediate but they're sure is more like a beginner slope and in the belief that you'll get the hang of it just by watching how easy it is for them.

So that's why I'm glad I learned to ski from a book.

No pressure.

Nothing steep until I chose it.

Nobody telling me to just "go like this" or that the slope was "not bad once you get past this first part."

The first day, according to the book, was just put the skis on and walk around at the base. I lumped it together with the second day which was snowplowing. There was a day for stem christi and a day for parallel skiing and one for moguls. And since that doesn't add up to six days, I guess I forgot one.

But I learned to ski and by the time I skiied with my boyfriend, he could take me to the top of the hill and give me pointers and I didn't freak out.

That was 30 years ago.

That boyfriend, now my husband of 29 years, and our four kids ski together. And while I'll never be as fast or tackle slopes as steep as they are and do, we can at least ride the lifts to the top of the mountain together.

Thanks to Billy Kidd.