The past two weekends, we have been going skiing as a family of four. That is really special to me, considering my knee injury last year, and the fact that it is Little Man’s first ski season.
But ski outings with a two year old aren’t easy. This is how it has gone the past four outings:
1. We suggest skiing, and he gets all excited, saying, “I want to ski!” He is happy the entire ride to the ski area.
2. We get there, and once we get the jacket, helmet, goggles and gloves on him, he melts down. This is about the time I send JB to the slopes with Little Miss, and I get to deal with the screaming toddler.
3. I’ve learned we head to the lodge at this point, where he writhes around on the ground and cries for at least a half an hour. This last week, he collapsed just feet outside the entrance to the lodge. A man walking by with his two kids starts saying, “Man down, Man down!”
People in ski lodges think a kid throwing a tantrum in ski gear is REALLY funny. I am pretty much over it. I tend to grab a camera, take a few pics for future blackmail purposes, and then I sit down about 10 feet away from him until he snaps out of it.
Right after this picture was taken, I ran into my former boss. It is a bit embarrassing to have your kid losing his s*#t on the floor.
This past weekend, after 30 minutes of flailing, Little Man came up to me and said, “I want to go see the dragons.”
Dragons? I’ll roll with it. “Let’s go, then,” I said. “You need a helmet to protect you from the dragons, and the goggles will keep the fire off of your eyes.”
So then, we head to the chairlift looking for the dragons. Whatever works, I’ll do it.
Of course the snow conditions here have been hideous — all man made at this point. They’ve been making snow during the day, and I’m pretty sure he thinks the snow guns are the dragons.
4. After he snaps out of his tantrum, things are fine. He likes to ride the chairlift, and makes hilarious noises we’ve dubbed his ski noises, which usually include squeaks and squawks. He’s a little trooper after he gets over his initial issues.
Last night, he told us that he wanted to take his basketball skiing, but that he’d hold on to it really tight so that the dragons wouldn’t get it.
JB said he’s going to take Little Man skiing on Sunday while I’m in Disneyland with our daughter. I’m curious to see if he’ll pull this stuff with Daddy, and if he does, what Daddy’s reaction will be to a half hour tantrum.
