Sledding with the Boys

Sledding with the Boys

December 28, 2013

Our younger son called mid-morning to ask if his two sons could come over "for a while" since they all had been cooped up for days since the ice storm hit our area before Christmas. The county has been under a state of emergency and the temperatures have been well below freezing. The wind chill factored in made it feel like zero degrees F. However, today the temp was 43 degrees with full sun all day. I told my son to bring the boys over in the early afternoon but make sure they brought their snow pants and boots.

The grandsons arrived promptly at 1:15 p.m. I told them to go in the house and greet Grandy and have her help them put on their snow gear. I had a few things I had to finish up in the garage while there was a break in the weather. When the boys came out of the house all zipped up and ready to play in the snow, I told them that I would take them sledding on the hills near our house as soon as I finished up in the garage. They would know to stop playing as soon as they saw me head toward the river.
The magic moment arrived and the older called to the younger, "Brother, Papa is heading for the river. Get your sled." The two boys kept up with me as they walked through the deep, and ice covered snow. This was perfect snow for rocket-paced sledding. We got permission to sled on the neighbor's hills and off we went.

I first lectured them to avoid all the downed limbs and eye-gouging sticks and reminded them how to fall off the sled to stop it in case their sleds went past the danger marker which announced there were only 75 feet before the property met the river bank. The boys prepared their sledding lanes by ridding the paths of sticks and limbs. Then they dragged their sleds over the frozen snow to give the terrain a gentle packing before the maiden voyage. One last question came from the older boy. "Papa, are you going to sled with us?" I told him that I would be just the referee since a man my age should NOT be sledding especially since I had made a vow 10 winters ago not ever to sled again. I had foolishly gone berserk, sledding with my wife's brother's family when they had visited in '04. I ended up down in the back for 8 weeks. No sir, there was no way I would put my body on a sled after the pain and agony I went through the last time.

Away they went having a hilarious time solo sledding, tandem sledding, and two on one sledding. I laughed my head off to see them tumble head over heels as the sled came to an abrupt stop or the spinning of two sleds in tandem which usually dumped them pell-mell into the deep snow. The testosterone laced yells of triumph after an especially good ride and the high fives that began the ascent back up the steep hills for another go at it were signs that the boys were on their way to manhood.
I thought about getting my video camera from the house to record this great memory making time, but a video could never have caught the nuance of camaraderie and sheer pleasure and fun the boys were having.

When the older grandson (age 7) suggested to the younger boy (age 4) that he should come and join him in a two-man luge, the younger said he was afraid to do that. The older boy retorted, "Brother, you are not going to be a wuss about this, are you? You got to be a man about some things in life and this is one of them." I could hardly contain my laughter at this remark. Finally, the younger boy got in the sled with his brother and the rest is history. They spent the rest of the time together on one sled.

Near the end of the session as they toiled up the hill and sat down to rest for a moment, I told the grandsons that Papa was going to give it a try. Of course, they warned me about what I said earlier about my last time sledding. I told them that one time wasn't going to hurt me. They watched me with wide eyes and some disbelief as I hauled my body into the sled and lay back for the big ride. I flew down the hill so fast that at the point where the terrain flattens out and heads toward the river, I could tell that if I didn't maneuver slightly to the left I would end up in the river. I made the left adjustment and headed straight toward an extensive briar entanglement near the edge of the woods. I hung my feet over the edge and dug my heels into the snow and averted a prickly conclusion to an awesome sled run.

Over my shoulder I heard the older boy call out, "Papa, are you OK?" I reassured him that I was fine. He replied,"I'm sure that when I tell Grandy she is going to be glad, too. Also, do you think this is a first?" I wasn't sure what he meant and asked him to explain. He said, "I mean, Papa, do you think this is a first for a man your age to ride a sled down such a steep hill." I told him that I didn't know but I'm sure there were men almost 70 years old who would be foolish like I was today. We laughed together as we climbed the hills going back to our house. Of course, the lingering question was, "Papa, can we do this again tomorrow?" I told them if their mom and dad said it was OK and Grandy wasn't too upset with Papa that we could do it again tomorrow.

The jury is still out regarding how Papa will feel in the morning, but he did take a precautionary soak in the soaker tub tonight to ameliorate any possible damage.