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Hundred Days 036

Boys And Girls Playing Ski

 

 

hundred_days_036, madelaine german, skiing at jackson hole mountain resort, hundred days journal

Day 036: 02/13/12 – Boys And Girls Playing Ski

Written By: Madelaine German

I love to ski with boys. They’re fun, they’re fast, and as a newcomer to this mountain, they’re always taking me to new and exciting stashes that would take me a while to find otherwise. But I think the thing that I love the most about Skiing With Boys is that when I do, I always feel like I can totally be myself. As much as I love chivalry, I love more being challenged to push my boundaries, and on skis, nobody’s opening any doors for me or making excuses for me because I’m a girl. When I Ski With Boys, the boys I’m with are simply skiing for the love of it, and expecting that I can and am doing the same (and I’ll admit, sometimes patiently waiting for me to catch up).

Don’t get me wrong, girls can be the same kind of ski partners, but more often than not, the (usually smarter) logic of Womanhood sets in, and my lady ski pards will be the ones telling me “don’t do it if you’re not comfortable” versus the auto-advice of their male counterparts to “just go for it.” There’s a right in both sides, and I appreciate both voices spoken over my shoulder. I don’t think you could call one approach better than the other, and I guess life is a never-ending study in learning how to balance in motion. But one thing that do I know for sure is that I love the game of Boys And Girls Playing Ski, and it always takes me back to my favorite summer sunset memories of being 10 years old, barefoot young and free me, and running my heart out in a game of capture the flag with my buddies.

My grown-up game of Boys And Girls Playing Ski is much more exciting, and, I suppose, a little more dangerous. But it’s still the same kind of fun coming from the same place. And maybe someday, after a few more seasons in Jackson, I’ll be the one patiently waiting for all of the boys to catch up…

Check out more work from Madelaine on her blog: lifeasaskibum.blogspot.com

 
 

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