The dangers of marrying Dutch

Somehow, the tepid winters of my youth in Texas and the even milder Christmases in California, did not instill me with a love of all things cold and snowy. Don’t get me wrong, I love the idea of a still, wintry night blanketed in white…as long as I’m on the other side of the window in my wool sweater and socks, with my love, by the fire (or heating unit as the less romantic, more realistic case tends to be). However, my husband, born and bred to the snow and ice, takes a much different, more active view on winter weather. For him, the air turning crisp brings with it an icy whisper of better things to come. He actually looks forward to the first freeze, the first snow. I recently really disappointed him when I finally admitted that the expensive ski trip he took me on two years ago was one of my worst experiences. It didn’t help that I got sick, but neither did the bus full of college age frat boys, the bunk beds in the tiny closet size room we shared with another friend as well as our damp clothes and gear hanging all over the place, the cough-inducing smoke cloud of a bar (the only escape from the matchbox room), the pain and sore muscles, the embarrassing falls I took and the ULTIMATE fear I experienced of falling off a mountain. Yes, I know you wizard skiers and snowboarders out there will think I am stupid. But, I am really, morbidly afraid of falling off a cliff or losing control and rolling over and over, building up a big ball of snow around me like those cartoon characters. Anyhow, P was very depressed by this news (I did promise to give the whole winter sport/skiing a second chance) and in order to hide the truth that I will never be an avid winter sporter, I bought my first pair of ice skates. Voilá! And not just any ice skates, but white, high-heel figure skates – very girly. Hey, you have to try everything once, right? Paul and his family told me that everyone learns to ice skate by pushing a chair in front of them. What they failed to mention is that ‘everyone’ includes up to the age of 6. I think I’ll just go out there and hold on to the rail. “See, honey I can skate…as long as I’m six inches away from this nice bar here.” :-)