Sledding

We went sledding this afternoon. It was a balmy +10 or so. But the good news was the cold meant the really wonderful sledding hill about a mile away was not packed with people and the parking lot was not packed with cars. I went down the hill 4 or 5 times. Once with Alex, twice with Joseph, and a few times on my own. Boy do I feel it. The snow was packed and hard, so every bump jolted my aging joints and I wiped out just about every trip down. It was cold but there were kids there without hats on. I think they were dressed warmly enough so that after climbing the hill over and over and over they didn't feel the cold. I was fine unless I stood still at the top of the hill for too long. Boys were in snow pants, boots, etc. They were fine.

Alex enjoyed for awhile, but he was concerned about running into other kids, and finally lost his temper because he couldn't control the direction his sled took. And he couldn't control it spinning and giving him a backwards or sideways ride. No amount of talking or explaining was going to make it okay.

Joseph tolerated the 3 or 4 runs he took. He even nodded his head yes that he wanted to go down the hill by himself the last time. But he laid on the ground at the bottom of the hill for a good five minutes after each run. Only then would he climb the hill. After his last run he headed to the car by himself. When he realized no one was following he reluctantly turned around to come to me.

The best part? Having enough trust that Joseph would eventually come up the hill by himself so that I didn't panic and fuss over him. It is nice when I can finally just let them be. I didn't even worry too much about Alex getting mad over something nobody can control.

PS
During this cold snap we have had the wood stove going all day, unless I've been at work. That keeps the house VERY toasty and the furnace doesn't run nearly as much. It is very satisfying to burn wood from dead or dying trees on our property that I cut down, and split. Some of the wood is from trees that the pros cut down, but I split it all! I worry a bit about the pollution from the wood fire. However, our electricity comes from coal, so there is a lot of pollution there also. Does anyone know how much worse wood is than coal on the environment? Especially wood that has no transportation costs or impact? Sounds like a science project to me!