Joshua Duffus looks out the window, depressed, as the rain continues to fall. Shiny new skis sadly lean against the wall. Once again he slowly wanders to the computer, clicks on weather.com, anxiously searches for a low pressure system with snow laden clouds. Josh sighs...and I roll my eyes.

Finally, days later, a blesed white blanket covers the mountains. He wakes early, dresses in down and polypro, grabs his backpack (which he packed weeks early like a pregnant mom waiting for delivery), and rushes out the door. I get a quick kiss on the way out.

The life of a ski widow.

It has taken years, but I've finally identified the tenets of a full-blown ski addict.
1. Spring, summer, and fall are merely seasons to suffer through until winter arrives - winter vacations to Hawaii do not exist in our household.
2. Skier's code: Powder, family, friends, work (work may only exist in non-snow months).
3. Cotton kills - my husband hasn't worn a single piece of cotton clothing since our wedding day (they don't make tuxedos in polypro).
4. Safety first - yet his mother thanked me for having family health insurance (I should have been suspicious at that point) and our first major purchase as a married couple was life insurance for him.
5. Most visited website on the computer must be weather.com (telemarktips.com is a close second).

Josh came home today and told me that he would marry his bright orange Karhu Jaks if he hadn't already married me. I didn't make him sleep on the couch because I know what it is to be a ski widow. I'll see him again when the snow melts.