Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Awesome!

We are hanging around the house, recovering and sipping hot chocolate after our first sledding experience.




Today was a snow day from school (and work, for Bob). After spending the morning puttering around the house, we went out in the car to complete some errands.  On the way out of town, we noticed children sledding down one of the hills at the high school. Sammy and Robert, of course, wanted to give it a try but Bob was hesitant due to the crowd of people and out of concern for the kids' safety.





Robert and Sammy have been in a sled before. Bob has pulled them around behind his bicycle and, when they were about 2 years old, we pulled them by hand and let them cruise down a mild bunny slope.  They've never been let loose on anything with an incline. 

During one of our stops in the car, I mentioned to a buddy that we "might" go sledding but probably not because of safety concerns. My buddy called my bluff, reminding me that I wanted to raise the kids to be outdoorsy and that driving them around in a car all afternoon was the opposite of outdoorsy. He was right, of course, and after a quick stop for lunch we raced home to get the sleds.

During that same stop, by the way, Sam invited herself over to my friend's house for dinner---I think. She's such a social being.

My safety concerns were misplaced. The three of us stood at the hill for a few minutes watching the traffic patterns and I issued some basic rules which the kids agreed to. Then off they went up the hill with their sleds.





After maybe three seconds of quiet contemplation at the top of the hill, they launched themselves toward the bottom. Robert instantly demonstrated control over the sled by shifting his hips back and forth. Within 5 seconds, all I could hear was the two of them shouting "This is Awesome!"



On his very first run, Robert made it to the end of the snow and kept on going into the parking lot adjacent to the hill. That's him in the sled on the right, below.


They had the biggest smiles on their faces after that first run, and I knew immediately that coming to the hill and giving the kids this experience was the right thing to do for them. That's what parenting is supposed to be, right…giving kids experiences to learn from.

Sammy did not display the same level of steering control as Robert, but she did manage to find her way to some snow mounds that the older kids constructed as jumps. She hit the jumps a couple of times and caught some air. Robert, meanwhile, was studying the hill to find the fastest route. No kidding: you could see him trying different paths to go faster or practice turning. He may have a future in bobsledding.

We stayed at the hill for about 40 minutes. 40 minutes in 10 degree weather with a wind chill is enough for a kid. No injuries, No accidents. A couple of wipeouts that produced loud laughter. A lot of fun and the perfect way to spend a snow day.





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