Reclaiming winter

Today was a pretty amazing day for our family. We've been doing some research into adaptive ski options for Hannah because we really want to get both girls out on the snow. B set H up for a lesson with a program near our house (we're so lucky to live in the mountains!) and the plan was to also rent skiis for Isabelle.

When we got to the mountain we were able to park right up in front of the lodge (a nice perk of the handicapped parking pass on a holiday weekend!) and the adaptive program office was on the main floor. It was filled with friendly, smiling people who immediately came up and introduced themselves to Hannah and commented on how cute both girls were and how great it was that they were there at such a young age.

Neither B or I knew what to expect and we kind of envisioned just tooling up and down the slight slope at the base of the mountain with the girls, just letting them get the hang of being out there. But the folks in the adaptive program had bigger plans for Hannah: they strapped her into a mono ski with the intention of taking her up on the lift and down one of the runs! I decided to rent skiis so I could go down with her and the guides (all volunteers, by the way). Hannah was pretty quiet the whole time we were getting everything set up but not at all scared or anxious. She did great on the lift and seemed to be doing okay as we made our steady progress down the mountain, but about halfway down we stopped to check on her and she said to me, "I want to get out and ski by myself now."

My heart squeezed. I had been wondering, when they initially strapped her in, how she'd feel about it all. She knows what skiing looks like and she's a really smart kid. I wasn't sure she'd be content to just sit and ride but it didn't seem like they had any other options for her. I'd also noticed that when she was making her way down the mountain, she kept flinging her arms out as they picked up speed, like maybe it was a little too fast. So I told Hannah that once we got to the bottom of the mountain, she could get out but that we had to get down first. But she wasn't having it. As they started down the mountain again, she started to cry pretty hard. The primary guide (the one behind her mono ski) said he could take her out and ski down with her in his arms. His main goal was to ensure that she was having fun and neither one of us wanted her to have a bad experience.

So with Hannah is his arms and someone else manning the ski, we all continued down the mountain at a pretty slow pace, Hannah telling the guide often to "slow down, please." This guide was amazing; we stopped often so she could watch me ski and just to check in on her. When we got to the bottom of the mountain, we saw Isabelle and B and Hannah immediately said, "I want to try skiing by myself, like Isabelle." Again, the heart squeeze.

The guide and I had a little pow-wow. I explained that Hannah's a really smart, motivated kid who's not psyched to just sit back and watch, which was sort of what she was doing in the mono ski. I told him that she was really pretty steady with her walker and that maybe we could try renting some skiis and boots for her, just like Isabelle, and Brendan could just hold her between his legs and let her get the experience of it. The guide was awesome: he was willing to give it a try and game for doing whatever we wanted to do.

Once we got Hannah set up, she had a smile from ear to ear. Brendan walked up and down the little slope with her, as he'd done with Isabelle, and then held her so she could ski down. Standing upright. On her own two legs. She LOVED it.

Seeing both of my girls coming down the mountain on skiis was such an amazing sight. I've been so bummed out this winter, wanting badly to get back into some of the snow fun that we used to do but wondering how to make it happen. And then we saw a glimpse to the future today and I couldn't be happier. The girls had so much fun, they kept talking about how they were "terrific skiers" and wondering when they could come again. I think our plan now will be to keep renting skiis for both girls and letting them ski between our legs and get the feel for being out there, with the hopes that as Hannah gets stronger and eventually transitions to forearm crutches, she can do it on her own. If attitude is any indication, I know our girl can do anything!

Sadly, I don't have any pictures of Hannah once she finally got on skiis but I do have some pics of the mono ski and also of Isabelle who, by the way, was a total natural. I have some video of both girls which I'll try to upload soon.

I'm starting to like this snowy cold weather again:)