I went skiing today with a couple of my closest long time friends. It has been years since we have hit the slopes together and I think my favorite parts of the day were the rides up the mountain on the chairlift. It gave us a chance to catch up with each other and pick up right where we left off.
Throughout the day we reminisced about the old days, what’s going on in our lives today, and shared some of our goals for the future. I was reminded about how these guys have been in my corner for years, sharing life experiences and supporting me when I needed it.
Chairlifts and Conversations
A ride on the chairlift enables you to be totally present, actively listening to those with you, while you are looking over beautiful terrain. It has to be one of the best places to have a conversation. It also requires you to stay to the point and gives you an exit since you must dismount at the end the ride.
Looking back, the chairlift has always been an important place in my life. Skiing was one of the family activities that we did with my father I’ll cherish all of the great conversations we had on the long rides up the mountain. Of course there were the awkward ones, like when I was kid and he fulfilled his obligation to talk to me about the birds and the bees. I was stuck there, nowhere to run and hide.
I spend hours talking with my brother-in-law (much younger than me) about his transitions from high school to college to the real world. I also had him pinned down with no where to run.
These 10-15 minute spurts of time with friends and family (and sometimes alone with my thoughts) have been some of the most important moments in my life.
Taking it in with Mike and Derrick 
Derrick and his selfies
