I’ll believe it when I see it.

Cap Horn

Absentee Boyfriend is back on the radar with a long held promise of a trip to the snow. It’s supposed to be tomorrow, Saturday, apparently the tickets are booked. And just in case, I’ve re-arranged the same clothes in my ski bag that have been sitting in it for two years. They smell fine.

As soon as he told me, I vowed to go on one of those fasting diets. And to do some core strength exercise every day. Vows, vows, vows are for nuns.

He said bring a swimsuit in case the weather’s bad. Not enough to slip and slide all over the slopes but to bear milky white limbs in a spa too. My friends are more excited than I am, so I garner some of their enthusiasm and try to visualise the fun. Even though I’ve been on ski trips with ABF a few times before, we’ve never actually skied together. He of the heli-skiing, off piste, pure bravura style, me of the ‘want to keep life and limb together’ and get down that hill in one piece style.

In fairness, I met him on my first ski trip when he was on crutches, so he had time to give me a bit of guidance in getting on and off chair lifts, me, like an ungainly frog, legs and arms akimbo and falling at his feet, ho ho. I only took up skiing 5 years ago so I could bring the cost centres on fun family holidays. The R word happened quite soon after the first holiday, plus they were still too adolescent to see the benefit of an activity trip with mother and soon found more interesting teenage girls to hang with instead.

Thinking it might be something I could mix with business and research, I obviously invested in all the gear so I’d be ready to go at a moment’s notice on clients PJ’s. That whole R thing scuppered the PJ’s as well. Anyway, it will be good to escape Dublinlandlady.com for a few days, it’s not even for a week, but I think home is in fairly good hands; until I just mentioned it to Lodger #1.

‘What? A free house? You do know there’s a Leinster match tomorrow, so you won’t mind half the team back here?’

‘I’m locking my bedroom door.’ I say

‘Ah, I’m a bit past all that,’ he smiles wryly.

While it's still pelting down outside after three days, getting out of the country to anywhere right now would be a thrill. Suddenly the thought of four party residents in the house colours my enthusiasm just a tiny bit. While I’m partaking of après ski it’s going to be après match in the burbs.