Sledding

I feel like I should wait for a snowstorm before writing this, but somewhere in the world it is snowing, so here goes.

I have great memories involving snow from when I was a child.  We had lots of woods behind our house in Yorktown Heights, NY.  There was a trail that began by the Andreades' house and ended in our yard, which was the length of 5 houses.  It had just the right amount of steepness and length to give us a thrill without making it too dangerous.  It was also easy to walk back up because there were tree branches to grab if we needed to.   When we walked back up, we packed down the snow making the trail even better for the next run.  It brought all the kids out in the neighborhood and when someone got cold or tired, they just walked home.  When I finally peeled off all my layers of protection in our basement as dusk hit, I looked forward to heading upstairs where my mother always had something warm and good to eat to satisfy my ravenous appetite.

Although I liked riding sleds, there was something about those circular coasters that I enjoyed even more.  Maybe it was because my face was not front and center should a mishap be imminent.  Or maybe it was because my body was already curled in a ball ready to roll when I was flung off.  The fact that it was lighter to carry back up the hill was definitely a plus.  Unlike the wooden Flexible Flyers, the metal coasters were pretty indestructible too.

Our current piece of property in Ridgefield, CT is flat and has no woods adjacent to it.  So when our boys were growing up, it took more of an effort to take them sledding.  We had to drive to one of the nearby elementary schools that had steep hills.  It was crowded and a bit crazy following a storm.  After surviving a run down the wide hill, the walk back up was never fun.  There were obviously no tree branches to grab, but you also had to dodge sleds, coasters, and cardboard boxes coming at you from all angles.  This I did not enjoy so much and as a result, our kids did not sled nearly as much as I did growing up.  Most of the time Chris took them anyway, and I waited at home with the hot cocoa and homemade cookies.  I used to love playing outside in the snow, but not so much now.

I would love to hear your sledding stories and preference of sledding vehicle. Are you still as enthusiastic about playing in the snow now as you were when you were younger?

Here I am (left) with my friend Robin. The woods mentioned can be seen behind us.  To the far right you can see where the path dumped us into our yard.