Sunday evening, as we wrapped up our winter break and prepared for the kids to return to schools, we were notified that schools would be closed on Monday due to inclement weather. The kids jumped and screamed for joy.

We woke up on Monday morning with a blanket of snow covering our ground. We dressed the kids in ski outfits and made a bunny slope in our backyard. We skied and snowboarded until lunchtime. After a quick lunch, which was around 1 pm, the snow stopped falling.

With the kids’ help, I shoveled our minivans and the front porch. After the kids went inside to play video games, my wife and I continued to shovel the sidewalk and driveway. We finished around 5pm and were alerted that schools would be closed again on Tuesday. The kids jumped and screamed for joy again as I announced that we would go skiing on Tuesday.

I woke up early on Tuesday to prepare for our ski trip at Bryce Resort. Because the weather was still cold, my wife backed out. She stayed home with Vương. I took Đạo, Đán, and Xuân with me. The drive was two hours and we didn’t arrive until 11:30 am. There was still plenty of time for us to ski. Đạo and Đán took off on their own. I went with Xuân. We started out on the green terrain, which Xuân could plow down with ease. Then all four of us tried out the blue terrain. To my surprise, Xuân didn’t fall at all on the blue slopes. He even skied faster than me.

I started to work on my short turns. I could do fine on the green slopes, but still needed to make wider turns on the blue slopes. My goal is to master my short turns by the end of this winter. Bryce Resort is a perfect place to practice. Its green terrain was long and its blue terrain was not too difficult. Kids under six years old didn’t need a lift ticket; therefore, Xuân was free. I just had to pay for Đạo, Đán, and myself since Bryce is not part of the Epic pass.

As we were skiing and snowboarding, I checked the time and it was already 3:40pm. The last lift would be 4:30pm. Four of us took one lift together. Then the kids decided to play with the snow so I went by myself on the blue slopes. Đạo and I took the last lift together.

As we were about to head back home around 5pm, I received another text message that schools will be closed again tomorrow. The kids jumped and screamed for joy again. We might head back tomorrow for another ski day. What can I say? I love skiing.

Last night, my wife pointed out that I am obsessed with skiing. I looked up the weather forecast to see if it would be cold enough for the resorts to make snow. I searched for ski levels to plan out my lessons. I watched quite a bit of YouTube skiing tutorials.

My wife is correct. I have the tendency to be obsessive. When I get into something, I go all in or as much as I possibly can. From ice skating to rollerblading to skiing, I find these sports fascinating. These sports changed my perspective on physical activities. For the most part of my life, I never thought I could be athletic. I was just a lazy bum. In grade school, I tried to play football and basketball with American kids, but I sucked at them both. I didn’t even understand the rules. Asian kids I hung out with were good at volleyball, but I was just average.

I was decent at soccer, but I never excelled at it. I made it to the JV team in high school as a right forward striker, but I was too lazy to run or to hustle. I avoided getting into contact with my opponents. I waited for my teammates to pass the ball to me. As a result, I didn’t get to play much. In retrospect, why the hell was I even on the team? I didn’t contribute anything.

For a long time, I didn’t do any sports. To keep myself healthy, I started jogging and that didn’t last too long. Waking up early in the morning to go for a run is more miserable, especially in the winter, than enjoyable.

When I introduced my kids to ice skating, I picked it up myself. My goal was to skate around the rink, but when I saw other skaters doing some impressive moves on the ice, I wanted to learn more. I didn’t even know lessons were offered until a mom of Xuân’s friend pointed out to me. I enrolled Đạo, Đán, and myself. Taking lessons opened up a whole new world for me. In ice skating, levels have been established to guide you through your progression. I started out from all the basics and then moved into jumps, spins, and step sequences. The Fairfax Ice Arena used the Ice Sport Industry (ISI) program in its curriculum so I just followed it. I wrapped up my Freestyle 2 group lessons last December. I am at the point where I can learn on my own with Coach Julia’s YouTube videos. I wanted to focus on jumps and step sequences instead of spins.

During the pandemic lockdown, we needed some form of outdoor activities. We biked, but I got bored quickly. Biking up the hills was not that much fun. I resisted rollerblading because it seemed like a dangerous sport. Falling on concrete appeared to be painful. Then my wife bought us rollerblades, helmets, and protective gears for our knees, elbows, and wrists. We rollerbladed around basketball courts and bike trails, but the skate parks changed our game. I can’t remember how I discovered skate parks, but I was so glad when I learned such places existed for free. They were intimidated at first, especially those deep bowls, but they were fun as we made the progressions. I learned and built up my skills from watching YouTube videos. So far, rollerblading is the most dangerous out of the three sports. I hurt myself a few times; therefore, I took extra precautions.

With skiing, my wife brought us Epic passes for the entire season. With a week-long trip in New Hampshire and two days in Pennsylvania, the passes paid for themselves. From now on, our ski trips are free. With unlimited access, I wanted to develop more skiing skills than just plowing down the hills for fun. I planned on taking group lessons, but so far the resorts were short of staff. As a result, I learned through YouTube videos. I wanted to make some skiing progress to allow me to enjoy the blue, maybe even black, terrains.

I am loving ice skating, rollerblading, and skiing because they are similar in a way that each sport gives me the opportunity to develop my skills at my own pace. I don’t have to compete against anyone else. I don’t have to prove to anyone that I am better—something I also wanted to teach my kids. These are the sports we learn together to improve ourselves instead of to compete against each other.

I have been obsessed with practicing because I don’t want to lose all the skills I have gained. If I don’t rollerblade regularly, stepping up on the coping to drop in could be quite intimidating. I wanted to incorporate these sports into my life so I can stay healthy and become more adventurous.

We went to Whitetail Mountain yesterday for the first time in two years. The temperature was in the 50s and rainy. The only two trails that opened were barely covered in snow. Nevertheless, we made the best out of them.

I signed up for a group snowboarding lesson for Đán, but he had one-on-one coaching because there were more instructors than students. Since it was such a great deal, I handed the instructor some extra cash.

Đạo hung out with his cousin. Xuân and I stayed together. Since the slopes weren’t so great, I decided to focus on my short turns. I followed the step-by-step exercise from this video. I made some progress and couldn’t wait to try it on a blue terrain next time.

Before my wife bought Epic passes for Đạo, Đán, Xuân, and me, I told her that I would put our money to good use. So far the investment is already worthwhile.

Last Sunday I drove over 14 hours from Conway, New Hampshire back to Fairfax, Virginia. On Monday, I took a much-needed break from an entire week of skiing and tidied up the house a bit. Tuesday, December 28, marked the first anniversary of my mother’s passing. After writing a post about her in Vietnamese, I decided to take my kids to the closest ski resort. I wanted the day to be a celebration. We packed up our equipment and headed to Roundtop, which was only two hours away from our home. My sister-in-law’s family also joined us.

When we arrived, around 10:30 in the morning, the resort was a bit crowded. We put on our gears and headed to the slope. Đạo and Đán went on their own with their cousin, Khôi. I took Xuân with me on the green slopes. I continued to work on my parallels, hockey stops, and short turns. I wanted Xuân to do the same, but he was still plowing.

Đán, Xuân, and I went over to the freestyle slope to do some jumping and grinding. We started out at the easiest ramp. In the meantime, Đạo and Khôi went to the blue and black slopes. I was surprised that they could do the blue and black slope. When Xuân heard that they could do blue and black, he wanted to try out the blue slope. I took him up to the blue slope with me. The initial hill was a bit too deep for him. I took off his skis and we both slid down on our butts to the bottom of the hill. I told him to wait for me while I walked up the hill again to get my skis. I skied down the hill using my parallels and hockey stops. I made it to the bottom where Xuân was waiting for me. Then we both zigzagged all the way to the lift.

Then I asked Đạo to go on the black slope with me. The first hill on the black slope was a bit steeper and rougher than the blue. Đạo plowed his way down. I followed him with parallels and hockey stops. When the speed picked up, I panicked and lost control. One of the skis popped off. The second time, I also made it all the way down the first hill, but I fell again. The third time, I decided to just embrace the speed instead of fighting against it. I paralleled all the way down and only braked when I was at the bottom. It was quite a thrill.

Đán and Xuân were exhausted around 5 pm and it started to rain. We packed up and headed home. The boys took a two-hours nap while I was blasting JAY-Z and Kanye’s Watch the Throne. We made it home around 8 pm just in time for dinner. I could barely stay awake to eat.

I thought of my mom during the entire trip. Two years ago, I called her up when I was driving home after our ski trips. She always told me to be careful and to take care of myself. She reminded me that I have four kids to raise and I shouldn’t be playing this “dangerous sport.” I told her I understood and reassured her that I took every precaution. Her words rang to my ears as I was driving home in the icy rain. She was watching us from above and keeping us safe. I love you, mẹ!

Today is our last day in Conway, New Hampshire. A week of skiing has just flown by. Between Attitash and Wildcat Skiing Resorts, my body is sore, but in a good way. I really enjoyed skiing. Similar to ice skating and rollerblading, skiing needs practice to improve. Even though I couldn’t make it on the blue terrain, I had reached my goal for the week. I am getting a hang of parallel skiing and hockey stops. I am working toward short turns.

Đán has done really well with snowboarding even though he only had two hours of semi-private lessons. I wanted to sign up for more lessons for him, but both resorts didn’t have enough coaches. He figured his way around the board on the green terrain.

Đạo stuck to skiing and he enjoyed accompanying his brother on the green terrain. I wanted him to learn the parallel with me, but he still preferred plowing down. As long as he was having fun, I didn’t mind.

Xuân only started skiing this week. He had two hours of private lessons. When his cousin, Hân, took his private lessons, Xuân followed along and the instructor taught them both. The next day, they took a group lesson together. They enjoyed each other’s company.

Vương didn’t want to ski all week until I took him on the magic carpet today. Then he wanted to ski. He had such a good posture and he didn’t fall at all. I am glad that he is warming up to this sport.

We’re going to get the most out of our Epic passes. I can’t wait to hit more ski mountains in the next few winter months.

I had eight hours of sleep last night. My mind felt great, but my body ached a bit. After three days of snowboarding and skiing, my body showed its age. I signed up for Xuân and Hân all-day group lessons. They enjoyed the green terrain with their instructor.

Đạo and Đán went on their own and I continued to work on my parallel on the green terrain. Then I decided to take the challenge on the blue terrain. I took the lift up and realized I might have made a mistake, but it was too late to back down. I figured I could plow my way down if it got worse.

I paralleled my way down a bit until I reached the first steep slope. I tried to plow my way down, but it was too fast and my skis popped off. I collected my skis and put them over the mountain side. I walked toward the next slope to take a peek. There was no way I could make it down in one piece. I called the patrol to come and to get me. The patrol asked my name and age to make sure I was not injured. Then he gave me a ride down on a toboggan.

He switched between deep plow, left side and right-side brakes. It was quite incredible to observe. I definitely need to work more on my parallel and alternate hockey stops to have better control before I head back to the blue terrain. It was definitely an eye-opening experience.

Due to lack of sleep, I crashed early last night. Unfortunately I woke up around one in the morning with a migraine. I tried to lure myself back to sleep, but I couldn’t. I read a bit until I was dead tired. I caught a few hours of sleep and didn’t think I could ski the next day.

I woke up and felt OK, but not great. I decided to go ahead and ski. I spent a bit of time on the magic carpet with Xuân and my nephew Hân who skied for the first time. I practiced my hockey stop and Xuân followed me. He picked it up fast. We had a lot of fun.

Then I went on the green slope with Đạo and Đán to continue to work on my parallel. I wanted to bring my skis closer together—to the point that they align next to each other.

I need to find a lesson plan to see what I should work on, but I couldn’t find anything yet. Maybe I should try out a blue slope next. I don’t know. I hope I’ll have a good sleep tonight.

I am having a great time on this ski trip with my older sons. I feel bad that my wife is stuck with Vương. We had a set of skis for him, but he refused to try. My wife had to stay with him. I told her I could watch Vương so she could take a skiing lesson, but she didn’t want to.

A week is going by so fast. We only have two more days to ski before heading back home on Sunday.

Despite lacking sleep, sore arms, and headache, I was determined to hit the slope. My goal was to transition from plow to parallel down the green slope. I didn’t realize that I had been plowing all these times instead of skiing in parallel. When I saw skiers who turned side to side down the slope with ease, I wanted to do that. I turned to YouTube and found a simple yet effective tutorial.

I tried out the technique on the magic carpet, but I couldn’t get anywhere. I went on to the green slope to just try it out. After several trips down the slope, I figured out how to turn my legs and shifted my weight. I was able to keep my skis in parallel positions. When I saw the instructor, who gave Xuân a two-hour private lesson yesterday, teaching an adult group lesson, I asked him if taught beginners parallel skiing. He said that, “I taught them the plow as a defense mechanism, but they should be learning parallel skiing. It is easier for a 75-year-old body.” Then he dashed off with parallel skiing.

As I skied my way down the mountain, I was bending down like ice skating and rollerblading. When the instructor saw me, he said, “You don’t need to bend down to ski. Stand up.” I took his advice and stood up. Tomorrow, I will continue to master parallel skiing before moving on to hockey stop. I hope to get a good sleep tonight.

After my failed attempt to snowboard on Monday, I switched back to skiing on Tuesday. I could barely put on a pair of used ski boots I bought for $40. Once I was able to jam my feet in, they hurt like hell. I could barely walk a few steps. I had to take off my boots. There went my chance for skiing.

I brought my boots to the warming area to warm them up. Before I put them back on, I massaged my feet. It felt better. I snapped my boots into a pair of used skis I bought for $50. I paid $75 to tune up my skis and to make sure my boots fit in the binding correctly. Then I paid $35 for a brand new pair of poles at the ski shop at the resort.

I skied for a few minutes at the magic carpet at the Wildcat resort and my feet started to feel the pressure. I took off my skis to let my feet rest. When I turned around, I couldn’t see Đạo and Xuân. I asked the lift operator if she had let the two kids on the lift to the green slope. Because it was a slow day, therefore; she noticed them. I worried that the green slope would be a bit of a challenge for Xuân. I kept waiting and felt anxious that I forgot about the pain in my feet.

Even though I didn’t feel like I was ready to get back on to the green slope, I hopped to see if I could find them. I spotted them with the ski patrol. When the patrol saw Xuân crying, he stopped and talked to him. He felt intimidated by the slope. The patrol gave him a wagon ride back down the mountain.

I plowed myself down and eased back into my groove. I didn’t fall at all. I joined Đạo and Đán on the green slope until it was time to close. Each time, I made my plow smaller to gain a bit more speed. My next goal is to learn parallel skiing and hockey stopping.

When we got back to our rental house, I was exhausted. Around bedtime, my arms were sore. I realized that I used my poles too much to push myself. My arms were so uncomfortable that I could not fall asleep. I ended up only with a few hours of sleep. I woke up with a headache, sore arms, and a painful thumb. Getting old sucks.

We’re vacationing in New Hampshire and staying close by Attitash Resort. Yesterday, I signed up for a two-hour private lesson for Đán and a group lesson for myself to learn snowboarding. Due to lack of coaches, my group lesson got canceled; therefore, I tagged along with Đán. We took a semi-private lesson together.

For two hours, we learned how to turn using our heels and toes and then connect them together to zig zag across the slope. Our coach told us that snowboarding was a bit harder to learn than skiing. Once you got over the learning curve, snowboarding would be less than skiing.

I started out with my dominant right foot, but I kept leaning back to my left foot; therefore, my board didn’t move and it turned in the direction that I didn’t want to turn. I tried switching my feet. As I stepped on the magic carpet with my left foot, I lost balance and fell. I landed my left hand on the belt and bruised my thumb.

After our lesson, Đán went up to the green slope with Đạo, who stuck with skiing. Đán fell several times and managed to snowboard down the slope. I stayed at the magic carpet and worked on my turns. In the afternoon, I joined Đạo and Đán on the green slope. I fell all the way down. I tried it one more time and fell even harder. I felt the impact afterward. My whole body was aching. My thumb was swollen and painful every time I wiggled it.

I am not so sure about snowboarding. My lack of sleep the night before put a toll on my ability to learn. I found strapping my left boot on the binding every single time I went down the slope and unstrapping it to get on the lift to be annoying. I had to sit my ass on the snow and pulled the board closer to strap in. With my swollen left thumb, it was painful to strap in.

I am glad Đán took up snowboarding. With his confidence and fearlessness, he successfully went into the dark side. I am going to stick with skiing and to develop more skills for this season.