A Tale of Two Ski Instructors

Both may know how to ski, but only one should be teaching children….

Photo by Lex Valishvili on Unsplash

I do not ski. To clarify, I have skied. Twice. That was enough for me to accept that skiing is just not for me. That however, is a story for another day….

But my husband does ski and this year, I decided to go with him on his annual ski trip out west. I figured, why not? A few days of staring at the gorgeous scenery, snuggling in a comfy chair with a book and people watching sounded like a perfect get away.

And there’s nothing like a ski resort for some really good people watching. There are the skiers in their perfectly coordinated outfits, sporting the year’s in-color, some who seem to spend more time walking around, showing off their attire, with no sign that they had actually allowed snow to touch their skis.

There are the mismatched skiers, whose outfits scream out, “I bought whatever was left on the sale rack and I don’t care.” And there are the conservatively dressed skiers, black snow-pants and a jacket with some combination of black, grey and white, excited to ski and not bringing any extra attention to themselves.

But on this trip, I found myself watching the ski instructors; in particular, the ski instructors working with children. I remembered years ago, signing my…