Sledding

I love organizing social events. Not sure when this interest really came about, but I truly love entertaining people (be it 1 or 30) at my house, gathering a group of kids and their parents to play, coordinating a party, etc. I've been the catalyst for a number of gatherings this past year, all of which were fairly successful, I think. Today was another one, and honestly it was a step outside my confort zone.

I decided I wanted to take my kids sledding. I mentioned it to a friend/coworker, who suggested a great hill at the Country Club, on the outskirts of town. So last week, I sent an email to as many people as I could think of in the fairly immediate area, inviting them to meet at this hill to play in the snow. Generally speaking, I don't really like to play in the snow. However, I am working on this! I have a couple of friends who love to "play" in the snow, i.e. skiing, snowshoeing, sledding... whatever they can do outside during the winter. And everytime I hear them speak passionately about these outdoor winter activities, a very small part of me wants to partake in the fun. A larger part of me reminds me that it's drier and warmer inside, but this time, I took the plunge. And once I invited others, and had a few responses that they would be there, I knew I couldn't back out!

My 2 youngest kids have been a bit under the weather, and ultimately I felt that taking them out in the cold probably wasn't the best idea. So they stayed with their Grammy, while the oldest and I bundled up to "hit the slopes" (so to speak). It was windy today, and cold, but not unbearable. When we arrived at the hill, a few others I had invited were already there. We were followed very shortly thereafter by a number of other friends. Total, there were 10 adults (including one couple who don't even have kids) and 7 kids in our little posse. Everyone had a blast. Even me, Little Miss Hibernation. A few of us adults served as the cheering section, opting out of the sledding action, but perfectly content whooping it up for those who did go and pushing and pulling whomever down or up the hill, as needed. The kids ranged in age from 18 months to 9 years, and all had a great time daring the slope by themselves (with the exception of the littlest) or in some combination with other kids or adults. There were no trees to hit, at least not in a direct shot, and there were only a few minor people collisions with no sustained injuries, not even any crying.

Although I didn't sled, it was fabulous to watch the others, kids and adults, going down the hill. Some went fast, some went slow. Sleds turned in 180s. What started out as a straight shot ended up a diagonal line. One of our younger friends somehow ended up with his feet in the air each time he went on a sled alone. One of our adult friends took a tumble and rolled nicely out of the sled, to the amusement of the cheering section. A couple people tried to hit the 2 different "jumps" that had been built up, with some success. Two of the kids who were in a sled together actually got a little air on a jump. The kids rolled around in the snow at the bottom of the hill. My son forged his way off the beaten-down path and made his own trails. It was exhilirating to me just to watch and cheer for the others. And I barely noticed that my fingers and toes were frozen.

On the way home, my son asked why I didn't sled, and when I didn't have a good answer, he said, "Well, you should have. It was fun." Yep, probably could have brought myself to go down the hill just once. I had a great time anyway, and was completely surrounded by AHA. Didn't really mind that I didn't sled, but next time I will for sure.