A few days ago, I shared the wonderful insight I gained by my youngest son's proclamation that the snow was melting. Well, it turns out everything I learned was completely wrong. Because, you see, today for an hour we decided to enjoy the six inches of snow we now have. I took the kids sledding.
But, before you go all gushy on my and say, "Aw, how cute!", let me break that hour up for you:
10:50-11:15 (25 minutes)
Look for and put on all snow suits, mittens, and boots.
11:15-11:17 (2 minutes)
Escort my daughter down the steps.
11:17-11:19 (2 minutes)
Convince my daughter that it was okay to sit down on the sled
11:19-11:22 (3 minutes)
Drag the sled with my daughter up the hill.
11:22-11:22 (Less than one minute)
My daughter slides down hill
11:22-11:25 (3 minutes)
Convince my daughter that she has to get off the sled so that I can go back up the hill.
11:25-11:27 (2 minutes)
Walk up the hill while my daughter is in tear. My youngest son joins us at the top.
11:27-11:28 (1 minute)
Get them both arranged and seated together on the sled, because my daughter refuses to allow anyone on the sled unless she is on it as well.
11:28-11:28 (Less than one minute)
Slide down hill.
11:28-11:35 (Seven minutes)
Repeat above steps, but include extra minute to put their mittens back because they were crying that their hands were cold.
11:35-11:50 (Fifteen minutes)
My daughter cried the rest of the time, refusing to walk in the snow. I would ask her if she wanted to go inside. "No!" I'd ask her if she wanted to play in the snow. "No!"
So, at this point, I declared it was lunch time and headed inside.
Am I a bad father if, during this whole expedition, I just laughed at my daughter? Because I thought the whole image of her insisting she stay outside in the very cold that is making her miserable rather hillarious.
So, for what took an hour, there was a grand total of about 1 minute of enjoyment. Oh what fun it is to ride on a sled down our tiny hill. Because after we were all cozy and warm inside again, I asked them if they wanted to go outside again. The answer? A resounding, "I wanna outside!"
I'm sure there must be some secret message God is teaching me through all this. But whatever it is, I'm too busy being amused to think about it. Mostly, I just think my kids are mentally insane!
And just what am I thankful for today? I'm thankful that children are cute, even in the most trying of times. It is what gets parents through yet another day without killing our children, and sometimes, like today, even laugh about it all!
