I celebrated my 46^th birthday yesterday up in Vermont – I’m officially on the other side of the 40’s – inching closer to that 50 mark.  We awoke to 8 inches of new snow and had a fabulous egg casserole, complete with the lighted wooden skewer that Jack insisted on putting in as a very good substitute for a birthday candle.  We made our way to the mountain – four kids and an awful lot of gear in tow.  As you can imagine, we do not get out of the house very quickly.  On these mornings I always think of the following children’s poem about the rigorous chore of getting dressed for a day outside in the winter cold:

 Winter Clothes, by Karla Kuskin

 Under my hood I have a hat

And under that

My hair is flat.

Under my coat

My sweater’s blue.

My sweater’s red

I’m wearing two.

My muffler muffles to my chin

And round my neck

And then tucks in.

My gloves were knitted

By my aunts.

I’ve mittens too

And pants

And pants

And boots

And shoes

With socks inside.

The boots are rubber, red and wide,

And when I walk

I must not fall

Because I can’t get up at all.

There isn’t a day that doesn’t go by that I wonder why do we do this.  But luckily for a wonderful husband that does 85% of the heavy lifting, we get out to the chairlift and make our way up the mountain (eventually).  After the previous evening’s snow, by the time we got out on the mountain, the sun shining brilliantly, and no crowds to speak of, the chores of arriving at this place in time automatically disappear from my mind.  As the six of us started down a trail which we owned all to ourselves, I thought it can’t get much better than this.  I’m still amazed by skiing’s ability to be the great equalizer.  To think all of us can be out there together, from age 4 to 46, all doing our own thing, but together.  Sam’s on a leash in front of Mark, primarily since he likes to barrel down the mountain, whizzes by David, Eliza, Jack and I stopped on the side of the slope, waving to us and shouting “see you guys later” as he heads for every mogul in front of him.  

And why do I write this?  Only to say that I’m grateful for these days of family … and I daresay that they couldn’t be this good if we were just hanging out at home, as everyone gets caught up in their own things going on, each of us typically going in our own different direction.  Because of this, all that work to get six people out on a mountain in the freezing cold, keeps paying its dividends, and will be one of the best investments we ever make.