My most favorite Pilates and spin instructor, Maren, always tells us to do one thing everyday that scares us. So this weekend, I did and was reminded of why doing scary things is important.

I haven’t been on skis in close to twenty years (after growing up on them thanks to my dad) and the girls have never skied. Rob was not a big skier growing up and each year, when we debated getting the girls on skis, it always seemed like more effort than it would be worth.

This weekend though, I decided it was time. We went to a tiny mountain twenty minutes away, rented skis and took a lesson as a family.

And here is why doing scary things is meaningful…

Katherine, who hadn’t wanted to go at all, took to skiing with ease. If I had decided to let her sit with me in the lodge sipping hot cocoa while the other’s skied, she would never have come to understand that sometimes things that seem scary can in fact be a lot of fun.

Caroline struggled and struggled at the beginning, unable to keep her feet going in the right direction and to still them when she needed to stop. Instead of crying and letting frustration take over, she worked and worked and by the end of the hour she could go down the hill and stop unassisted. During one short hour this weekend, Caroline was able to gain amazing confidence in a unique way. The thumbs up and smiles she gave me as the hour went on were infectious.

I was reminded on a really basic level that skiing is fun. And on a more important level that doing uncomfortable and challenging things is what parenting is all about. My girls learned more about themselves and about life on that hill than they have in a long time.

So here’s to doing one scary thing every day…