Jan 4 - We got to Wintergreen ski resort (the last five miles in very dense fog), checked in, brought all our stuff up three flights of stairs (it took three trips), parked the car, unloaded the cooler, marveled at the snow, took our pills, and crawled into bed. 

In the darkness, Ian rolled over and put his hand on my arm, “You don’t have anyone to share an anniversary with anymore.” 

I just started laughing at the ridiculous timing of his comment. 😂😳😒Thanks, kiddo.

Jan 5 - Our ski day started out less than ideal because I felt anxious about having to be THE ADULT for everything and guide my kid through it all when I haven’t been on skis in over 20 years. That’s one of those things not in the handbook. There is no other adult to share any emotional load. When your own kid is worried about everything new, you don’t have the luxury of worrying yourself. 

My Hot Young Widows Club helped me get going as well as a Xanax I scrounged out of the depths of my purse. We had our lesson from 11-12:15 and kept skiing until 1pm. We took a break for lunch where I promptly fell asleep on the couch. 

Ian was dragging me back out the door at 3pm and we made it back to the room right before 7pm. It was exactly *right* before Ian had a meltdown from exhaustion and *right* before my blood sugar went low. We totally stuck the landing. 

We’re in our underwear on the couch again eating random things for dinner (fried rice, a shrimp ring from Costco, leftover Christmas cheese, the other half of Ian’s burger, a honey crisp apple, LOTS of Gatorade and water). 

We finished our last run and were riding the lift back.
Ian: “On a scale of 1-10, how did I do?”
Me: “Um ... I’d say a 14.”

I only fell once. Ian fell maybe five times but one of those was on purpose because he picked up too much speed. I am so stinking proud of him. 

I had to get three people to help me get out of my boot. This is fine as I’ve never met a stranger. It was funny to have the two young men I first approached desperately want to rescue me with the “strong fingers” I proclaimed them to have. The rental guy explained I unbuckled in the wrong order and he fixed it with his deft tiny little fingers (and experience).

We’re sweaty, muddy, and exhausted. And we had a great day. We even had a rainbow!

Jan 7 - Ian (heading towards me from the couch): “Hey mom, I wanna show you this. It’s really funny!”

Me: “Are you about to bring your iPad 4” from my head to show me a Vine video of someone screaming something I can’t understand?”

Ian: *turns around and goes back to the couch*

Jan 7 - Ian wants me to wear the Chris Pronger 2010 winter classic jersey to the game tomorrow. It was one of 11 Flyers jerseys I had to choose from that were Rich’s. I also counted 40 other jerseys in the jersey closet. (We have a jersey closet.)

Jan 8 - Me: “Can you not start any shit? With old men? Please?” 

It was a great game and an exciting ending.

Jan 9 - I do things to help mitigate anxiety in our tiny household. I printed up this crib sheet for Ian to hold that listed all our stops between Tysons Corner and Metro Center so he could follow along. It helped a lot. And his not pestering me about stops, it helped me too.

Jan 14 - We were talking about how long Ian’s heated mattress pad stays on for.
Me: “I dunno. I think eight hours?”
Ian (shaking his head as he walked off to brush his teeth): “I don’t know what kind of person only gets eight hours of sleep.”

Jan 16 - My new Vans are men’s size 8.5. Ian’s new Vans are men’s size 8.

Jan 19 - My kid is definitely more of a warrior character class versus a scout, but we finished a 5K “cookie run” with Laura to support the Girl Scouts this morning. There were cookies at all the way stations! And the medal is adorable.

Jan 23 - Ian is eating peanut shells and this is basically proof he is Rich Stryker’s son. 🤢 (Rich ate the shells of his peanuts in the Army so he didn’t have to police them.)

Jan 24 - Ian just asked if he could get “trench hand” from being in the tub for too long with pruny fingers.

Jan 25 - When my kid tells me he’s SO HUNGRY, I make sure he picks something I also like so I don’t mind finishing the 75% he can’t when he’s SO FULL.

Jan 29 - I had Rich’s t-shirts turned into lap blankets for me and Ian. The price and turnaround time from Project RePat was amazing.

Jan 30 - I know some parents restrict kids’ internet access because of sexual predators or violence. I just want to keep my 9yo off WebMD.