The Snowy Woods

I'm not sure you're aware, but Middle Tennessee got a little snow this weekend. Or as it will forever be known, The Great Winter Storm of 2010.

It rolled in Friday morning and dropped about 3 inches of snow on our lawn. By sunrise on Saturday, the snow was covered in another 2 inches of ice. By Saturday 10:00 am the Wood family had a plan.

You see, when The Ocho was about 2 years old Handiman was a salesman for a lumber company that also operated an Ace Hardware store. One evening he came home with one of these:



I think we had snow in the forecast and he got a little excited. Of course, we only got about an inch and it melted before noon and The Ocho could barely sit upright. But still, he wanted to make sure he was prepared to offer her one of the joys of childhood; A sled ride downhill in the snow with her Daddy.

We didn't get to use it that year and tucked it away. Flash-forward 7 years later to Saturday, January 30, 2010. Finally. His day had come. He went into the garage with a purposeful stride and removed it from the hook it had been hanging on for the past 4 years. He began to wax it and talk of the great adventure which was to come. But for it to be all that he wanted it to be, we would need to find an appropriate hill.

Of course, there wasn't one that met his qualifications within walking distance of our house. So we did what any responsible parent would do. We loaded up our child into our winter-ready, off road Toyota Camry (which is too old to be recalled. Come on. We're not that irresponsible) and headed out onto the icy streets. Our destination was our local park just a couple of miles down the road, which in Tennessee Winter Road Conditions Time equals about 30 minutes of driving.

We made it safely to our destination and marveled that the park was empty. Go figure.

Finally, it was time for the maiden voyage. I waited at the bottom of the incline in order to capture the moment for posterity.

Ah yes. It was a thrilling moment. And I dare say it was all they had hoped it would be. I watched them take a few turns and then decided to throw caution to the wind and give it a try myself. Did I mention that I'd never ridden a sled before? Well, I have now. And I have a purple knee to prove it. I'm not sure what happened but in a desperate attempt to slow the sled with my feet before slamming into what I was certain was going to be the cause of death on my autopsy report, I hit my knee on the ice. It's just a bruise, but I bear it proudly.

And don't go thinkin' I'm the only member of the family with an injury. During a joint ride there was some sort of steering issue and Handiman and Ocho both took a tumble. Ocho remained unscathed but Handiman got a little banged up on his backside. Of course, a man his age should expect a hip injury at some point.

We sledded for a couple of hours, went home for some lunch and rest time and then headed back to do it all over again. We are officially winter sports athletes.

Sunday after church we decided to stick close to home for a while. With the ice melting a bit, The Ocho wanted to try and make a snowman. That didn't work out too well so we opted for a different plan. May I present our snow castle:


After trying to have a snowball fight we discovered it's not so fun to be hit with 15 pound balls of ice. I know because Handiman nailed me right in the head. When I regained consciousness, we decided this might be more fun. May present, Snow Ball:

We are nothing if not resourceful. We finally gave up though and headed back to the park for some sled time.

I must say we have thoroughly enjoyed The Great Winter Storm of 2010. Sled rides, snow castles, bruised knees, snowball concussions. What's not to love?