So my mom and I were talking about the "old days" when I was a kid - my brother and I used to sled with our older cousins down this big hill by our house. And by "sled" I mean, try out any conceivable object or material, large or small, to see if it would slide on snow.
We had this homemade trailer on skis made to pull behind a snowmobile - the thing probably weighed 200 lbs - we'd all climb in and fly down the hill in. Was it ever a bitch to pull back up the hill! Not all that safe either, I might add. We tried out black garbage bags, inner tubes, pieces of plastic cut from a big roll, of course the store-bought discs, an old Radio Flyer toboggan my dad refurbished for us one year - did I mention the old car hood? Oh yes, it's true. They slide like mad. But like the snowmobile sled, they're quite heavy.
So eventually we got to the part of the conversation where I, as the make-my-kids-wear-a-helmet-or-life-vest mom, realized how scary and dangerous some of those things were! I mean, how hard would it be for the corner of an old car hood to slash open a squishy little kiddie? Or that other welded-up death trap? What if had overturned on us? Oh my God.
Winter is well on its way here and we now live in the hills where we've got potential for a lot of snowfall. My kids will be sledding...
Maybe I should go out and clear a safe path for them. Maybe we'll skip the old fashioned wood-n-metal sleds. And what about those brittle plastic discs - suppose one of those snapped in half and became little more than a slippery stabbing waiting to happen? I like my kids' faces the way they are!
I don't want to ruin all their fun by being overprotective, though. I wonder if they'd settle for riding down the hill on a pool noodle? My mom (who perhaps was poking a small amount of fun at my expense) suggested I provide them with bubble wrap... do you think she meant for them to sit on it or for me to wrap them in it?
Overprotective and proud of it,
Piper Denna
Romance is sexy!
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