I think I’ve become more afraid. I have always been pretty nervous about stuff, but not without reason. I’m definitely a backseat driver, but I’d been in several car accidents as a kid and a teen. I was a cautious, worried parent, but I worked at a high school and the options for danger were pretty evident. My children went to parties, stayed out late, drove cars and went to Europe on school trips, so my anxieties didn’t stop all the good times, although they would beg to differ. But something feels different, now. I don’t know who has changed, the world or me? The times feel scarier.

Speaking of scary, I put on cross-country skis after many years absence due to work, global warming, and having hip replacement surgery. Now the tiniest hill sends me into panic mode. I snow plough down a gradual knoll with my muscles tight and clenching, heave a frosty sigh of relief at the bottom and keep going. I feel a bit less steady and that slippery feeling, coupled with my lack of skill can be unnerving. I tell myself “hey! I’m out here” (and thank goodness no one can see me)

But happily I am not deterred, and my lesson to self was to take the skiing in small doses, enjoy the woods, and breath in the fresh cold air. I take each little hill slowly, practicing my limited techniques, and glide along at the bottom of each descent savoring the joy of remaining upright.

And then something happened. We got a few inches of new snow. This soft pillowy cover provided a natural slowing method and I gently sailed down the hilly trail. What a difference! My confidence returned. I was having so much fun.

My recent ski experience reminded me of how we learn and teach new skills. We can ask ourselves as parents and teachers; did I remember that not every child is comfortable with new material, and experiences. Did I help to make goals attainable? Did I make space for failures? Did I encourage those students who tried, stayed standing, and found success? But more importantly, did I cheer on the kid who fell and still got back up back up? I hope I was that little bit of snow.