casting spells

I own a pair of skis with boots and poles so small that only the three year olds and some tiny four year olds can fit in the boots. I also own adult skis, poles, and boots. I have not skied in a while.
But a year or so ago my dad gave me a steamer trunk of my grandparents and inside were my skis from long ago. I took them out, looked at them and put them in a corner of a little used room. And there they stayed. Then, earlier this week one of my students began talking excitedly of an upcoming ski trip with her mother. She asked me if I had ever been to Seven Springs. So I told her that I had, indeed, and to several other ski lodges in the area and we went to Canada for two weeks every winter. Everyone says how lucky I was. Yes, in some ways I was. I had skis and all the appropriate clothing to go skiing in Canada. -30 F and they don't factor in the wind chill. One day the wind was blowing so hard the chairs were blowing sideways. But they did not cancel ski school. No. We duck walked up the hill! But I did have fun. I liked ski school. What caused me problems was skiing with my parents. Mum had her issues but was easier to ski with. But too into what I was doing wrong. Dad was a horror. Screaming, leaving me in the snow if I fell, leaving me to be scooped up by a complete stranger and put on the chair lift. Leaving me to be pulled out of a snowbank by someone else's dad. He had rules. No going in before lunch no matter what, kids carry their own skis and boots, No crying, and his children were destined for the winter olympics. (in HIS mind anyway). How do I explain the bad mojo that was on those baby skis and on the big ones? Once when my mother commented that I looked like a professional skier in a race in Canada my dad proceeded to list all the things I had done wrong. I was 10.
Skiing with my dad was not a good experience. but he always thought it was a great way to bond with us. We weren't bonding, we were watching him closely to see if he was going to explode or hit us or storm off and leave us. Yeah, yeah, we were paying attention. (Cause not paying attention got a swift smack.) But bonding, not really.
But I told the kids I had little skis and they wanted to see them. So I brought them in to school. I teach in a really cool school. I discovered that the boots were too small for all but the littlest kids. (I had to wear four pair of socks to make them fit when I first got them.) I also discovered that it is really hard to gets kids feet into ski boots. But we got them on three brave little souls. We went outside to the playground and skied on a gentle little slope. They had fun. Even the kids who were too big for the skis had fun helping the little ones. When they got their skis crossed I picked them up so they could straighten out their skis. (I learned that kick up one ski trick quite young cause my dad had a no helping rule). When they fell I picked them up. If they were scared I held them up. When they were done I took off the skis. When they were cold and had snow in their jackets we went inside. I told them how brave they were. We stopped when it was not fun anymore.
I cast a new spell on a pair of old blue skis. A spell of fun and respect and love.
With the help of some awesome little kids.