Oh, I love the snow!  I've cross-country skied at least once in eight out of the last nine days.  Though many people I meet complain of the snow and cold, I wake up to a blanket of new-fallen snow with sheer delight.  Too deep to drive through?  Good, then I'll just ski over to do my daily visit to the nursing home where my parents reside.  Roads cleared, sidewalks shoveled?  Time to visit the Metroparks.  I don't get to the golf courses when the golfers use them.  Only when there is a thick coating of snow do I venture on those lovely "greens".  And the bridle trails are so scenic as they thread through the snowy woods, often close to the iced-over river.  I can explore places I never go. I can cross great unbroken fields.  I can break trail  through thick powder, or exalt in the long glides of packed and iced trails made by others days ago.

Often people say it is a work out or great exercise I'm getting, as though skiing requires an intimidating amount of effort.  I reassure them I ski like a little old lady.  Just like walking, it is possible to ski fast or slow, look at the scenery or focus on making time.  A stroll in the park is as enjoyable as a jog through the park.  So it is with skiing.  A leisurely ski through the park leaves me warm, happy, and exhilarated.