Day Three - Breckenridge, CO

2:00 AM - I sleep four hours before my first bathroom break. Darcy and I are on a blow-up mattress in the kitchen, so to get up, I use my right arm to get up on to my knees. A sharp pain shoots from my shoulder to the tips of my fingers. It is as if someone has twisted my arm backward. The inside of my right knee is painful, and I can't put weight on it to stand. I switch sides to stand. Both hips groan in agony as I make my way, slowly, to the bathroom. Obviously, I have torn tendons and damaged significant muscles.

5:00 AM - Here we go again. I need the bathroom. My body protests, but I manage to stand using my left arm. The left knee is bothersome, and the hip is sore, but that arm is perfect. I use the bathroom. 

It is freezing in the condo, so I wander in the dark to look for the thermostat. Finding it, I push the knob up, but don't hear the heat click on. I return to the mattress and use Darcy for warmth. Damn, it's cold on the floor. Too late, I remember the gas fireplace. No way can I get back up again.

7:45 AM - Time to rise and shine. The girls have to be at school by nine. It is snowing and the temperature this morning is 18 degrees. The high today may reach 29. Darcy's legs are sore and aching, but both girls get up and drag on their layers of clothing.

They are not in the same group at ski school. Yesterday, when I hiked through the falling snow to pick them up, I got to watch Darcy ski down the mountain. Her instructor, a man by the name of Krassy, directed them into a roped-off corral where the ski school practices. Darcy skied down the hill inside the corral, stopping herself at the bottom where she collapsed into a heap. So did the boy next to her. Removing her goggles, she had sheer exhaustion written all over her face. She was pooped, hungry, and cold. She opted to stay there, on her knees, head tilted forward when I came into the corral to wait for Madison.

Darcy: "She is on the tippy, tippy, tippy, tippy, tippy top of the mountain."

Madison skied in 15 minutes later. She skied down the slope effortlessly, removed her goggles, and waved. I had to show ID to get both children, and then Dick and Tom appeared. They took Madison off for more skiing. Darcy changed her boots, and we hiked back to the condo, where she joined Uncle Clint on the couch with a cup of hot chocolate.

8:30 AM - This morning, there is no whining about going again - which I think I expected from Darcy. They eat, layer up and trudge off down the mountains for Day 2 of the ski school.

11:00 AM - The more I move, the better I feel. My knees and hips no longer hurt, but my right arm feels like I lifted a hundred and fifty pounds of one hundred reps. It is sore.

I enjoy several cups of hot coffee while I watch ESPN's Sports Center's news on Bob Knight's resignation. Tom offered to go back up the mountain to try snowshoeing with me, but I declined. I'm not sure my body is ready for that today. Instead, I layer up with the guys, watch them head up the mountain, and then I trudge down into the village. Neither of my children is in the corral, so I wait for them, regretting my choice not to wear ski pants. I wish for my face shield. It is cold. Snow blankets everything except for the pathways leading into the village shops--those are heated beneath the concrete and steam rises from them. It reminds me of the mist they spray at Disney World to cool off the guests.

My entire hike was in the snow, some of it slippery and icy. I don't have the best traction on my boots, but they do match my ski jacket, and really isn't fashion what matters? 

11:30 AM - I'm now in the eatery, "The Maggie" watching the skiers as they come in for lunch, seeking warmth. Everyone sports red cheeks and noses, Kleenex in their pockets. The hot chocolate is flowing. There is not one Nintendo or Game Boy in sight. I'm feeling like a beer, but yesterday I read another article on altitude adjustment, and apparently, one alcoholic beverage is equal to three at sea level. When I read this aloud to the men, all three opened up beers.

12:18 PM - I'm thinking a nap sounds better than a beer and lunch, but the thought of hiking to the condo stops me. It's odd because I grew up in snow and cold weather, and played outdoors for hours when a child. But seriously - ugh - I prefer Florida, the sand, the sun, the warmth, and the palm trees. It's beautiful here as I look out at the snow-covered mountains, the ski lifts carrying the skiers up, up, up, and the white snow-covered slopes with skiers in colored jackets descending at alarming speeds. An excellent place to visit, but no way would I live here.

1:15 PM - I'm back at the condo. I've had lunch and am now sitting by the gas fireplace reading my book. The hike back was cold, cold, cold, and I'm happy to be warm again. The men and children are still out there. Nuts....all of them.

4:00 PM - I hiked down to the village again to pick up the girls. I fell once and instinctively used my right arm to cushion the fall. ACK! The limb is SO sore. 

Darcy was in the corral, riding up the magic carpet (a moving escalator), and she waved, and I got to observe her ski down the slope. Madison skied in minutes later, and we packed up and hiked back. 

I slid once on the way back, but my waving arms kept me on my feet. The girls are kind enough and don't laugh. 

4:30 PM - Clint is in the jacuzzi tub. Tom and Dick stroll have strolled in, cheeks bright red, and they warm their feet and hands by our fire. 

It's time for chips and beer.

10:00 PM - We have returned from our venture into the village for dinner. Dick and the girls wanted to eat in, and Clint, Tom, and I jumped on that quickly. We agreed, put on our coats, and told them we'd be back later. They didn't think that funny and joined us. 

We found a little Bistro that seated us in ten minutes. I ate Penne Roberto, which consisted of flank steak, roasted peppers, zucchini, and spinach in a chipotle cilantro pesto sauce with a slice of avocado atop penne pasta. Delicious! A nice evening. 

The girls are winding down with Disney in the bedroom, and we adults are watching a Harrison Ford movie in front of our fire. 

Day 3 is ending.