Magic Chairlifts

We slid up to the Yodler chairlift—dad and son, gliding on snowboards, lights casting fun shadows over the lift ramp and staging area. Not speaking, we slid forward on the ramp, loaded the chair and took off into the night.

As the chair carried us through the trees, we swung our snowboards and chatted—one of those millions of little conversations you have with your kids. The words coming easily as the chair wraps you in a blanket of camaraderie and love. About halfway up, we noticed the shadows our boards were making on the snow below. We started wiggling around on the chair to make interesting shapes on the snow—laughing at the effects we were creating.

At the top, we slid off, strapped in and started our next run—no thought given to the last chair ride, but feeling happy, relaxed, and at peace with life.

The humble chair lift is magical. It’s a special place where strangers become friends, problems are solved, laughter is born and, in some cases—lifelong love affairs begin. No topic is forbidden on a chairlift and life’s problems just seem to fade away—at least for five to nine minutes, or however long it takes to get to the top.

Chairlifts are also a powerful parenting tool. They’re the one safe space your kids can tell you what’s really going on in their lives. My wife understands this intimately. When our kids were younger, she’d often tell me to take them skiing and figure out why kid number one or five didn’t seem happy this week.

So, out the door we’d go. And before the ski session was over, kid number one or five or two or whatever would have told me what’s going on and, sometimes just the telling of the problem, would make it go away. Magical.

So, that’s my hope for you this Christmas weekend and coming New Year’s holiday. I hope you and your loved ones get a chance to spend some magical time on a chair lift—reconnecting, laughing, holding hands or simply sharing the same space in silence. I hope the chair works its special magic on you and you find a few moments of peace and happiness. And, if it doesn’t work? Well, at least you got to ski down after.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from all of us here at Camp Business.