Snatching Grandchildren -- One at a Time

When my husband and I had young children and were desperate for a break, we could never turn to my parents to babysit.  True, they lived two hours away so it wasn't as if they could just pop on over. But that was about their only excuse.  They had the time and the energy. But babysitting was not their thing.
Much as we yearned for their help from time to time, in one major way,  they made up for it.  When each of their grandchildren turned 10, they took them on a ski trip for a week. The child  would miss a week of school, since their spring break  never landed in  mid march, when the snow was still good and the weather mild.  That's when my parents liked to ski.
More important than the good table manners they learned, more important than the excitement of seeing new places,. More important than nailing ski techniques that would endure a lifetime,  the experience created an indelible bond between each child and Grandma Connie and Grandpa George.
And so, my husband and I decided we would keep the tradition.

We are in the midst  of a ski week with our eldest grandchild, even sharing a hotel room with little privacy. And it is everything we had imagined: a curious, exuberant child, enjoying adventure and happy to be sharing it with us.
Missing is the parental dynamic, one reason George and Connie took the grandchildren -- without us, the parents.
Add in the absence of sibling rivalry -- because there is no sibling there --and you have the makings of a really wonderful vacation.  He wants an extra dessert? Fine with us.  Doesn't want to write in a journal -- his homework --  Oh, well!  We can bend rules in ways that parents can't.
Also, we can foster independence. He's not tied to our umbilical cord. So he's got his own room key.  And if he doesn't eat much breakfast, that will be his problem, not ours.
Such are the joys of grandparenting!  My parents had it all worked out.
A week, of course, will be enough.

Free Rides Disappearing, Even For "Super Seniors"?

Dad, with his 70+ Ski Club badge

I remember how my parents (gone some 15 years) proudly sported "70+ Ski Club" badges on their ski jackets. It gave them access to many mountains  -- for free. And they took good advantage of it.

Now, so many boomers are on the slopes that a lot of ski areas have upped the age for senior discounts and freebies. Or abandoned them altogether.

This is good news. And bad news. The bad news is obvious -- everyone wants a break, especially when a one-day ski ticket at some places is approaching the $100 mark.  (At Steamboat Springs, it's $114 at the mountain!)

The good news is that we're schussing and wedeling at loftier and loftier ages.

A bit of research found that policies are, literally, all over the map, though there's a slow age-creep.
Most California resorts still offer discounts to those 65 and over.  But at growing numbers of places, there are no breaks until you reach age 70, when you fall into a new category, called "Super Seniors." (Love that phrase!) At that point, you're likely to get a discount, or maybe ski for free.
But increasingly,  you'll have til 80 for that free ride.

My father was still skiing at 80, and when someone asked him how he did it, he'd say, "It's not a problem. But you don't start at 79!"

Do you know of any other types of "senior discounts" that are being pushed to higher ages? Please comment at UnRetiring.blogspot.com or email me at dottyinky@gmail.com

'