As you probably already know, this past week
Despite what the news agencies were reporting, it wasn’t quite the end of the world, although it did slow down the normal flow of life in our neck of the woods.
The problem is twofold; we just don’t get enough snow to truly be prepared for heavy dumps and there are a heck of a lot of hills up here. It’s not like getting snow in the
This helps to explain why even the mere mention of snow can pack the grocery stores and shut down schools. Which means the Wednesday before winter break, all the kids got a snow day and the ground was bare. Then the first snow hit. Not too much, but enough to make the Thursday commute a little slower than normal.
And that seemed to be the end of it. Until the news started warning us of an actual storm. This time the hype wasn’t too far off. It started Saturday evening with a little flurry that turned into actual flakes of actual snow. And it just kept falling.
By the time Sunday morning arrived, we were waking in a winter wonderland. And being the smart people we are, we kept the car where it was. Any traveling would be on foot. So we strapped on the boots, donned our hats and made our way up to the store. I put together the jogging stroller and mushed my way up the hill. Not a big hill, but big enough when you’re plowing through powder. The way back was much easier. And then we ran into our biggest dilemma of the day.
When the snow falls like this, you can be sure a few things will suddenly go out of stock… 3-hour logs, generators and sleds. And when you have a toddler, guess which one is most important on the whitest day of the year? So, I had to put my daddy brains to work and come up with a sledding solution.
If you remember a few months ago, I wrote about how Finley is just as happy playing with a laundry basket as she is playing with a new toy. The laundry basket. She likes to sit in it. It’s got sides. It’s plastic. Made sense to me. I just needed a test pilot brave enough and small enough to fit inside my creation.
One piece of rope later, I’m pulling my daughter through our parking lot and she’s chanting her new favorite word, “again.”
As much as I’m glad Finley understands what it means, it’s one of those words that instantly become more trouble than it is worth. Because the child will not want to stop saying it. Ever. And if you try to move on to a new activity, it had better be more fun than the current thing or the waterworks will flow.
So, I’m whipping her around the parking lot to a chorus of “again, again” when I decide to take a bit of a break. This doesn’t sit well with the munchkin. Before I know it, she’s literally screaming “AGAIN!!” What’s a dad to do?
Needless to say, I got quite the workout and Finley’s first real sledding experience was a hit. And the best part was later that evening, right before she went to bed. She went over to the basket (that was back as its old job as a toy box), emptied it out and pushed it to the door.
It looks like Dad’s creation turns out to be the hottest toy of the season. We’ll see what the future holds, but I’m pretty sure there are some more inventions in my noggin ready to be tried out by the cutest test pilot around.
No comments:
Post a Comment