I thought they were so grown up
I thought they were so little
Look at the fear in their eyes
Alexandra off to school
Leaving Graham
Leaving Mom
Look at Graham
chewing dear Teddy's ear
His best friend leaving him for the first time
You notice there are no pictures of me
I am sure I was pretending to be so excited for them
Hating every minute of it
Hating the change
Hating that I would not be there to protect this precious child
And now
Alexandra
First day of clinical
working toward
a career in
Nursing
And Graham
The Grand Prize Winner
of a Contest sponsored by
Jack Daniels Tennesee
Grizzly Boards from Mark Rautiola on Vimeo.
video Grizzly Boards
My name is Graham Sparks and I am 24 years old (12/09/1987). Right now my workshop space consists of a barn and a basement at my parents house in Little Compton, RI. In order to support my dream of creating Grizzly Boards I spend my summers working in a fine woodworking shop building custom staircases and doors and also working landscaping jobs. Through the summer months I spend my nights and weekends working on new designs, testing different materials, and building a stock of test skis.
In the winter, I relocate to Colorado where I work as a ski- and snowboard-tuning technician. This allows me to be in the mountains and around the culture of skiing. Skiing is simply the love of my life. The sense of freedom that comes from riding big mountains and deep snow is unsurpassed in any other facet of my life. The people who share these values are a passionate, loving, and eccentric breed, and it’s an honor to be involved in such a tradition.
Through word of mouth marketing and allowing passionate skiers like myself to test the designs I bring with me to Colorado I’ve been able to build a considerable amount of demand for Grizzly Boards. This $25,000 would allow me to afford a singular workspace of my own to manufacture, market, and perfect my skis. Most importantly, this grant would allow me to continue to be uncompromising in using the finest materials available to me. I currently sink every dollar I make into purchasing the best, sustainably harvested poplar, pine, and bamboo woods; the strongest fiberglass, carbon fiber, and epoxy systems; and the most beautiful wood veneer top-sheets.
Grizzly Boards uses only American craftsmanship and top of the line materials to create a handmade ski of the highest quality. The company is rooted in creativity, passion, innovation and adventure and the skis we make are a reflection of these ideals. How we make skis is neither fast nor cheap, but it certainly yields the best product, and like Mr. Jack Daniels himself, we would have it no other way.
In the winter, I relocate to Colorado where I work as a ski- and snowboard-tuning technician. This allows me to be in the mountains and around the culture of skiing. Skiing is simply the love of my life. The sense of freedom that comes from riding big mountains and deep snow is unsurpassed in any other facet of my life. The people who share these values are a passionate, loving, and eccentric breed, and it’s an honor to be involved in such a tradition.
Through word of mouth marketing and allowing passionate skiers like myself to test the designs I bring with me to Colorado I’ve been able to build a considerable amount of demand for Grizzly Boards. This $25,000 would allow me to afford a singular workspace of my own to manufacture, market, and perfect my skis. Most importantly, this grant would allow me to continue to be uncompromising in using the finest materials available to me. I currently sink every dollar I make into purchasing the best, sustainably harvested poplar, pine, and bamboo woods; the strongest fiberglass, carbon fiber, and epoxy systems; and the most beautiful wood veneer top-sheets.
Grizzly Boards uses only American craftsmanship and top of the line materials to create a handmade ski of the highest quality. The company is rooted in creativity, passion, innovation and adventure and the skis we make are a reflection of these ideals. How we make skis is neither fast nor cheap, but it certainly yields the best product, and like Mr. Jack Daniels himself, we would have it no other way.
Life takes
many twists and turns
i pray every day for protection over my two,
wisdom and discernment as i relate to them.
wisdom and discernment as i relate to them.
when to step in. when to allow them total autonomy.
when to offer advice.
when to realize that they just want to vent.
when to realize that they just want to vent.
when to trust them. when to have their back.
when to allow them to take care of things themselves.
when to allow them to take care of things themselves.
when to spare them further embarrassment.
it's a hard call
every
single
time.
Revised but taken from
Simple Thoughts
5 comments:
All so true. Congratulations to both Graham and Alexandra on their accomplishments.
Hi Cheryl, You must be so proud of your kids . . . congratulations to both of them, including you to Momma:O) Our children are only assignments that are given to us from God. Looks like you and Kenny have done a wonderful job. I wished I would have taken more pics with my kids, but it was always Dave and the kids together, must have been a reason why. Blessings, Sandy xo
You must be so proud...beautiful children, accomplished, and following their dreams..can we ask for more! I so look back on when my kids were younger and sometimes its actually hard to think about, I miss it THAT much. Watching videos and pictures is almost painful....because I so want to go back to when they were young.
I think the only consolation for us moms seeing them grow into adults is seeing them happy and pursuring their dreams....and looks like that has happened for you, best of luck to them!
WE lead parallel lives~ my sons are huge ski devotees!
Love to hear more about your fine people you have carefully crafted. A nurse....that is a mighty fine career and skiing is just adds so much to living life with passion.
I want those skis!!!!
pve
Hello Cheryl,
I was just catching up on several of your last posts when I saw this one. I'm fascinated with your sons venture in creating custom skiis. Having grown up in Colorado and my husband in Utah, we understand that passion. My husband worked for Powder Magazine for many years and our kids only ski, have never even wanted to snowboard. I think we all love that tradition. We wish him well and of course you and your beautiful daughter as well.
annie
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