Learn something new everyday

Adrenalin affects blood sugar WAY more than I thought.

We went to Park City again this past weekend to hand out with my oldest sister and her family. Eric and I thought it would be fun to try and teach the boys to ski. Ummmmm, fun isn't the right word. Let's just say it wasn't all smiles. More like snot, tears, and flailing limbs. Ethan's a nervous kid to begin with. He's very quiet and thinks to himself a lot when he is scared. From the moment we got to the ski resort his boots hurt, his skis were too slippery and his nose was cold. He also wasn't pleased to see that he would have to sit on an exposed chair that dangles by a rope about 100 feet above ground. Teaching him to trust his skis was the biggest challenge. It didn't click in his head that by doing a snow plow he would slow down. Instead he would just fall and then start freaking out. A few times he was great - no issues - but then he would forget for a second and come to the realization that he was headed straight for a tree!!! We stuck to the bunny hill for the most part of the day but after lunch we decided to go up the Payday lift for a longer ride down. Big mistake. Ethan's number was fine at lunch, and I corrected him like I should. But then, the Payday lift. It's a high-speed six person lift that moves faster and a lot higher than the one he was used to. When at the top the runs were narrower and some of them led to steep, tree ridden runs that he was convinced I would make him go down. His adrenaline took over and the panic set in. We were still on "green" runs, but it was all just too much. There was no getting through to him that it was just like the bunny hill. Amazingly, we made it down and all he could do was talk about how much he needed a diet coke. Haha. But he was kinda right, his number was 500. So frustrating. That run would have been a cake walk if it weren't for a little something called adrenaline. I've often wondered why professional athletes inject insulin during their games (because normally exercise would require to ingest sugar) and it all makes sense now, adrenaline. 5+ years he's had this and I am still trying to figure it out. What's most frustrating is that there will probably be many more trips to go skiing and all he is going to remember is this first experience. I know Eric will remind me that we should have done ski school, but I don' think it would have ended any different. Live and learn...