Yucks and Yums

My daughter is very active in YMCA leadership programs. Last summer, she was a Counselor in Training (CIT) at Camp Orkila on Orcas Island. As such, she fills us with knowledge she shares with campers.

"Don't yuck on someone else's yums," was the gem she came up with this weekend when she and her brother were disagreeing on which board game to play: Bohnanza or Scrabble. Claire Adele and I played one round of Bohnanza and then the Boy and I played Scrabble.

The Boy hasn't been feeling too well lately, and to pick him up, I reminded him the Ski Bus sign up was open. I asked if he wanted to sign up, and he said yes. I told him his father was planning to take him to buy new skis this weekend. The Boy was thrilled. He went to the basement and dug up last year's gear, and tried everything on to see what fit and what didn't. In the past year, the Boy has grown more than four inches taller. He needed new everything except a helmet.

As the Boy was trying on his old gear, I grew wistful. I had only seen him ski once in his new ski jacket last year, and that was when I tore my ACL on the second run of the season.

The Boy, ever sensitive, knew that while his excitement about hitting the slopes hard to suppress, I might be a little sad about not getting the green light to ski this season. My new surgeon said to wait at least a year until after my surgery before I ski again. That would be the end of February for me.

Sigh.

"Hey!" the Boy said as he tried to squeezed his foot into his too small boot. "You could snowboard!"

What? I hate snowboarders. I take that back. I hate bad snowboarders. Bad snowboarders fall into two categories

1. Those who are unaware of their blindspot and run skiers over, and
2. Those who don't know how to snowboard and ride down the hill with the board perpendicular to the fall line and scrape the snow off the slopes.

I know I shouldn't yuck on someone else's yums, but here is a bit of anger poetry from a few years ago, previously posted on my blog:

Snowboarders

Raping the slopes

And pillaging the powder,

You leave an icy trail

Like a snail leaves

Slime.

You can't see me

As your flat board

Irons the corduroy.

"Seriously," the Boy said, amazed at his own brilliant idea. "You wouldn't have skis that could twist your knee. It would be safer."

Evan, my physical therapist, told me the same thing. He is a snowboarder himself, so he might be biased. "Only 2% of snowboarding injuries are torn ACLs. One-fourth of all skiing injuries are torn ACLs."

I ignored Evan when he said this, and here is my son, cheering me on to try something knew, something I previously yucked on, something that would get me safely back on the lift with my family in the winter.