So, we got some snow in Moscow. A lot of snow. It’s been
snowing since Friday morning, but the climax was Sunday when we got about 5
inches over the course of the day, and then another 6 overnight (and it's supposed to continue snowing for at least the next 10 days). It took me
about 20 minutes to clean my car off this morning and as you drive around town,
most cars have about a foot of snow sitting on top of them. Classy.
Anyways, we hosted a birthday brunch for Rachel after church
on Sunday. People trickled off and the rest of us snuggled on the couch while
we watched the snow steadily pour down through the windows. As cozy as this
was, I wanted to go play in it. Nothing is better than spending a few hours in the
snow, freezing your butt off, and then coming home, putting warm PJ’s on, and
snuggling up to watch a movie. So, Leaf and I decided to take Jex to the dog
park and then go sledding. The park was surprisingly crowded, but it was still
a good time. We walked around the frozen stream, he broke some ice and almost
fell in a couple times, we made snow angels, and just enjoyed watching Jex bounce
around.
We decided to sled down a relatively small hill that we
passed to and from the park. He’d never been there, but rumor had it (from some
trustworthy, rambunctious boys) that this was a great sledding hill. So, we decided
to give it a shot. We picked a path to take, then decided to move over a few
feet to the left to avoid veering into the tree line. I always feel nervous
before sledding because I don’t do it very often. I’ve only gone once in Moscow
(sometime last year) and it was an intimidatingly steep hill that threw me off
my sled and sent me rolling about ¼ of the way down.
With a sinking feeling in my stomach, I gripped onto Leaf’s
shoulders and off we went. I felt relieved after a couple seconds because it
wasn’t very steep, and we weren’t going too fast. I even said “Wow, this isn’t
that bad.” I looked over his shoulder as I finished my sentence, only to see something
approaching. Over the course of two seconds (maybe less) my mind whirled at what
it could be, a rock? No. A pile of snow? Clearly. But not just a pile of snow. A
ramp. Someone built a ramp. Out of the entire hill, we picked the path that lead
directly to a ramp. Luckily, I thought, it doesn’t seem too big. Then we hit
it. With our combined weight and momentum, we hit it hard. We went flying. And flying.
And flying. I suddenly realized we hadn’t touched down yet and started
frantically wondering when the heck we would touch down.
Then we touched down, and boy, did we touch down. If I
thought hitting the ramp was hard, we hit the ground ten times harder. Right on
my tailbone. A wave of pain went through my body so strong I had the wind knocked
out of me (it was a good thing too, because I let out a burst of profanity and
there were kids around). We came to a stop and I slunk onto my back, moaning in
pain. I rolled off the sled and laid there for a couple minutes, trying to use
the snow to calm it. Jex hovered over me in worry (it was the cutest thing). I finally let Leaf help me up. But with every move I made, I was
hit with a fresh wave of pain.
Idiotically, I went down the hill one more time (not on the
ramp path). The firmly packed snow gliding under me only made it worse. After Leaf
went down one more time, we slowly made our way back to the car. And that’s how
the rest of the day went, slow. “Every step I take, every move I make, every
single day,” I’m looking like either an old lady or a pregnant woman. Or a
toddler who just started potty training.
Regardless, I accomplished what I wanted to. I came home
frozen and snuggled up to watch Firefly. I spent the rest of Sunday on the
couch, periodically icing my butt. Sleeping was hard, going to the bathroom is
harder, and getting up and down off the floor to play with a toddler is
hardest. But it made for a good story and there was lots of laughter throughout
the experience ^_^
