A brief lesson on skis

This winter has been pretty much a non-event so far, and while that is great for those who do not like the snow, it isn't so great for parents with kids that want to ski and make snowmen. However, a couple days ago we did get some snow in this region that has stayed til the weekend so, out we went.

When children start school they are expected to be able to ski and this is going to be a challenge for @smallsteps as neither I nor her mother can, so I hope she is good at math. The last time I skied must have been twelve or thirteen years ago, and I wasn't good. The skiing I am talking about is cross-country of course, not downhill and this is very popular in the Scandinavian and northern European regions.

Neither of us have any idea how to teach a kid to ski, but she picked up using chopsticks by watching us and replicating, so perhaps if we put on some ski sports, she will do the same. It would be pretty great to be able to learn by watching, but unfortunately it doesn't work that way - otherwise there would be many more porn stars in bed based on internet consumption.

@smallsteps did pretty well though and even managed to keep her skis pointing straight ahead and managed to go a few meters under her own power. I have a niece who turned up to school without having ever been on skis before and sixteen years later, the experience still torments her.

We don't necessarily process our feelings well as adults, let alone as children and while I think that we need to face up to our own inadequacies and disappointments, it is a pick your battles kind of thing. In Finland skiing becomes such a large part of life for many people that it is probably a skill that should be taught when young.

We got the skis for her before the winter assuming that like most winters, there would be plenty of opportunity to get outside, but it hasn't been the case at all. We were also going to get her on ice skates for the first time but the temperatures haven't been cold enough to freeze the lakes or even put a surface over the local fields for hockey rinks like they normally do. From what I have heard, the last time there was a winter like this was in the seventies.

Well, perhaps if the climate keeps rapidly changing, I can teach @smallsteps how to play cricket or Aussie rules football instead, since without the winter, most Finnish sports are off the table.

That'd be a huge shame. ;D

Taraz
[ a Steem original ]