Mrs. Neskie- Pizza and French Fries

“It’s hard to learn as an adult,” they say. 

“It’s a fun winter sport to do as a family,” they say.

“Just remember pizza and french fries,” they say.

I am the only Neskie in my family that doesn’t ski. Even my two-year-old owns a pair of skis and has been up on a chairlift before. My six-year-old can go down a black diamond on his own. Is that even what it’s called?

I decided it was time to try.  I love facing my fears and jumping into the unknown. I reluctantly signed up for a lesson. A ‘beginner’ lesson, I had to check and double check as I was registering.

The morning of my lesson, my family walked me out to the bunny hill to meet my instructor and group. They dropped me off, and I heard my six-year-old yell at me as they walked away,  “Remember Mom, pizza and french fries!” 

We learned the basics during the first part of the lesson. How to walk in skis, use our poles and all about the pizza and french fries! I quickly learned that the pizza turn involves pointing your skis towards each other in a "V" shape to slow down, while the fries turn involves keeping your skis parallel to each other to turn. Surprisingly, I was catching on quickly.

At the end of our lesson, it was time to put it all together. We were going to ski down a hill! At this time, my family was there to watch me. Or maybe it was to laugh at me! 

It was my turn to go down the hill. My six-year-old again yelled out to me, “Pizza and french fries!” I pushed myself forward and I was off. I kept repeating to myself, pizza and french fries, pizza and french fries, pizza and french fries.  I looked up and I was doing it! I was skiing! 

I got to the bottom of the hill with the biggest smile on my face. I skied! I went over to hug my six-year-old and whispered to him, “Pizza and french fries, Ollie, pizza and french fries.”