Ski Time for Outdoor Mom and Dad

Every baby book and new mother website will tell you: make time for yourself and for your marriage. You need some "me" and "us" time to keep healthy and happy. But that time away from the kids is not so easy to come by, is it? Sure, I can mange a couple of hours here or there while Dad takes the kids. And we are sticklers for an early bed time for the kids so that Mom and Dad can have a little time each evening to recuperate. But I think the last time Matt and I had an overnight just to ourselves must have been before three-year-old Bridget was born.

So this past weekend Matt and I took the plunge. Matt's parents very graciously agreed to come to our house for the weekend and stay with the kids so that we could get away for a night. We debated quite a bit about where we would go, considering everything from a night in the big city to a Nordic tour to ski into the rustic Mountain Cabin at Bretton Woods. We finally decided that given the short window of time we had to play, we didn't want to spend hour upon hour driving to our destination, and would stay locally. Besides, we have such a wonderful winter playground right in our back yard, why go anywhere else?

The plan was to go downhill skiing at Bretton Woods for an hour or two to start Saturday morning, then hit the Nordic trails as Matt prepares for the Bretton Woods Nordic Marathon and I for the Mount Washington Cup, both events now just over a month away.

The morning started out quite cold, and dressed in layers we hopped on the chairlift at 8:00am ready to see where we could find fresh snow after last Wednesday's big storm. After a few buttery groomer runs, we headed to Rosebrook and played in the snow on McIntire's Ride and Bode's Run. Then we hit the new Stickney Glades. There are now numbers designating each run, and we found only a few tracks on 4 and 5. As I mentioned before, it takes a little effort to get out there, but what a treat those woods held for us! Light and fluffy snow, and bright sunshine for the short wait at the lift back at the Bethlehem Express Quad.

The sun was winning out and the day warmed up quickly. Matt and I were having such fun tearing it up that we decided to just keep downhill skiing all day. Being kid-free, we did take the opportunity to enjoy an adult beverage and lunch at the Slopeside Pub. But with soft snow, abundant sunshine, and no nap time or diapers to attend to, as Matt said, "What's not to like?" So we skied to near exhaustion and then made plans with friends to return in the morning for more.

Overnight, our snow globe shook again, with another eight inches to add to the already record base depth by this time of year. This time the snow was a bit heavier, but we were meeting our friends for a quick video shoot for Ski New Hampshire and then some time to catch up and get a few more runs in. You can see us on SkiNH's weekly shoot - I'm the one in the orange jacket.

We returned home by noon so that that Matt's parents could make it home for the Super Bowl. The kids were having so much fun playing with their grandparents that I'm not even sure they noticed we were gone. What a relief. We may have to try this more often!

How do you make time for yourself?