You
might wonder why Mr. Outdoor Activity Guy would be interested
in advertising such a sentiment. Normally, I write about all
things sporting and outdoors, and if I have to, I'll squeeze
the family aspect into it. I'm lucky my wife and family enjoy
my outdoor stuff; It seems we're always doing something on
our weekends.
Now
that I think about it, I should be more appreciative of all
the fun we have. My wife makes it all possible. I guess this
is more of a statement of appreciation and respect. I should
be on Oprah.
First
of all, I met Gretchen in 1994 at Swiss Valley. At that point,
I had been a weekend instructor for the prior three years
and was looking forward to another year of skiing, racing
and the post-shift brews. Gretchen was a newbie instructor
trainee and she was assigned to me for a first hand view of
teaching the masses on the rope-tow beginner hill.
We
chatted and looked at the dozen or so beginners that ranged
from eight years to young adults. They also had a fairly average
range of ability and listened well. But there was always the
one or two students that didn't listen when I said "don't
grab the rope."
If
you are standing still and you abruptly grab a tow rope that's
moving at five miles per hour, you can't let go quickly enough
to avoid being launched over the tips of your skis.
Anyhow,
the lesson resulted in most of the class being able to slide
down the hill in a controlled wedge and no one was injured
or killed. Success. Gretchen and I seemed to hit it off okay
and we were platonic winter ski buddies for the next six years.
Fast
forward to 2000-the winter was something I was eagerly awaiting.
By this time, I looked at Gretchen differently. Primarily
because she was a much better skier at this point and that
she could keep up with me on the slopes. She will tell you
that she skis much better than I do and with much better form.
For clarification purposes however, I was and continue to
be the better skier.
We
found we had more in common that just arguing about skiing.
We started dating and got married. We bought a house, a dog,
a boat and had two boys. And yes, we still argue about who
is the better skier.
Now
the former and continuing love part of the story involves
that fact that Gretchen is a master planner, scheduler, facilitator
and instigator of some pretty cool sporting activities.
I
also want to point out that I'd still love her if she didn't
do this stuff, it's just that the sporting activities would
be much fewer and far between. And much less organized.
Our
roles are clear, she's the planner and I load the truck. It's
this basic understanding of the universe that keeps our relationship
sound.
Gretchen
enthusiastically embraced my sporty, sweaty lifestyle. I remember
our first mountain bike outing at Lawless Park in Vandalia,
Michigan. At the time, it was about a ten mile trail of varied
technical difficulty. I had a steel frame bike retrofitted
with a cheap front shock absorber and Gretchen had a rigid
bike. For the record, going over logs and roots without at
least a front shock will just beat you up. We donned our helmets
and gloves and off we went.
As
we approached the trailhead, I asked if she was scared. She
laughed at me and said, "We're just going on a bike ride,
silly". I said "Okay." Gretchen still recalls the point about
four miles into the ride when she missed a turn at the top
of a hill and physically got caught in the top of a partially
blown down tree. As she descended the hill, her bike got tangled
in the tree top and her momentum carried her into the branches
that were horizontal, leaving her dangling about four feet
off the ground. The fact that she didn't complain much intrigued
me. By the end of the ride, we were dirty and sweaty-and planning
our next outing.
I'm
lucky to have her and to argue with about skiing. Does anyone
have Oprah's number?
