By SkiMum Paula

I mentioned to some friends last night that my hubby gave me exactly what I wanted for Christmakah, the multi-cultural holiday we celebrate (for what seems like the entire month of December) that makes my children spoiled rotten and my in-laws very happy.  I asked for Date Night coupons to be redeemed once a month for the following year.  Being a good guy (and recognizing the not-so-subtle hint), he stepped up and offered two per month.

If this sounds bizarre, then I’ll just assume you’re unmarried or newly married and don’t have children.  Just play along and tuck this away for future reference.

With hectic lives, little ones underfoot and, even worse, teenagers at the wheel, it gets harder and harder to carve out time for ourselves and nearly impossible to do so with our spouses.  Add finding a babysitter, bribing a sibling or, if necessary, flying in a granny, it’s a wonder that we ever get out with our mates at all.

Like Charlie with his Golden Ticket, I eagerly presented my coupon to ski with my sweetie at The Bird.  He was going to be there anyway for a meeting and said he had a few hours before he had to be back at the office.  So, after taking the kids to school (more like slowing down in the carpool lane and nudging them out), I bolted up the canyon and met him at the Plaza, where we took the tram to the top and skied down again and again as the sun burned off the morning clouds on the front and back sides.  There was an unexpected dusting of new snow and, being midweek, no crowds.  What a day!  What a date!

[Singing]  If you want to view paradise, simply look around and view it. Anything you want to, do it; want to change the world… there’s nothing to it.  –Willy Wonka

And we talked.  Riding the lifts together in the center of the seat, we talked about the mountain, where we wanted to ski next, how I was skiing so well this season (thank you, Skimums), whether to stop at Mid Gad for hot chocolate, how we should come back in August to hike among the wildflowers.  What’s absent from this list?  All the stuff that consumes conversations down the mountain.  Good stuff, but stuff that, for a few hours could wait.

No, it wasn’t a date in the traditional sense, but instead of sitting in a dark theatre watching a Shoot ‘Em Up, Oompa Loompas or a Chick Flick — silently and passively, we were actually engaged in the activity and, more importantly, one another.  Hmmm, we could be on to something.  I’ll have to redeem a lot more coupons to test my theory.  Thankfully, the season at Snowbird is long.

But Charlie, don’t forget what happened to the man who suddenly got everything he always wanted? … He lived happily ever after.  –Willy Wonka