we snuck away and went skiing last weekend(cher we didn't make it down to rapid or i would have called!)

anyway. talk about the perfect bluebird ski days. no wind, blue skies, great snow and perfect temperatures. it was GREAT. i find myself smiling at the boys the whole time. they make me do things i probably wouldn't do anymore, purely because i don't want them getting hurt without me being there.

for instance, big j loves to hit the trails in the trees and he likes to do the little jumps on the sides of the runs. i used to be the exact same way when i was a kid. i would probably not even go in the trees as an adult, but i have to follow him in case he crashes...so off i go, an old mom tree bashing. i am sure the rest of the normal moms love watching me pop out of the trees to hit the little jumps. i don't catch much air these days, and the big ramps that used to thrill me now make me think about broken legs. i do feel silly doing them but my ego really is on the line.

then there is little j, who is obsessed with the nastiest slope he can find on every mountain. terry peak doesn't have much to offer, but they do have a little run called avalanche. my brother will remember it fondly. you have to get off the ski slopes and climb up and off the beaten path to get to avalanche. the husband told little j no this time, so he pulled the sad eyes trick on me and it worked. pretty soon i found myself hiking up to avalanche with a group of snowboarders snickering behind me. we got there and i was instantly mad. there was barely any cover and the slope was even more vertical than i remembered. plus, you had to drop off a little cliff just to get started. PLUS all these snowboarders were watching and waiting to see me die. seriously? grrr.

there comes a time when a mom has to stop trying to be cool, and i decided my time was probably about right then.

this will be my battle in the next ten years: there is a fine line between embarrassing and cool.

where the heck exactly IS that line?

probably about where they hang the "out of bounds" rope at the ski resorts.