All is well, but thanks for the cardboard tip. Midwest is pretty flat for sledding...
Exactly. They can drag each other around and have the time and fresh, cool air to meditate upon their sins. Cardboard enhances the experience. And the backyard is a lot closer than Menlo Park.(/irony)
PS -- Sleds are the best way to get Chicago city or suburban kids out of the house in winter. Plastic ones are remarkably inexpensive. Boys in particular like those little kamikaze discs. Sledding hills are all over the place (think park districts converting landfill space, abandoned high train embankments, you name it).
The kids get to spend time in the sun, climb themselves to exhaustion, and have a good time with their friends. Of course you have to go, but in a lot of places you can watch them from the warmth of the car. Have a big thermos of hot chocolate and spare warm socks ready for when they're done.
For added warmth, put Baggies over their socks before you put their boots on. It keeps the socks dry, and forms an air barrier to help keep their feet warm. And you can forget the spare socks.
This works really well until the boys are 12 or 13, and the girls enjoy it until they're 16 or 17 (as long as they bring their friends).
Make sure you scope things out and give them your bans (stay away from fences, lampposts and other immobiles), and admonitions (stand up as soon as you stop, turn around and look behind you for incoming child missiles) before you retreat to the car.
Can't read, but you can turn on Dick Kay on WCPT and enjoy a an hour or so of Saturday afternoon peace and quiet.
Hey Blue Gal, thanks for the David Levine open thread. The Kennedy cartoon was a nice touch. I was guessing you'd go with a cartoon of a writer!
ReplyDeleteIt's time for the kids to get back to school, methinks.
ReplyDeleteSend 'em outside with the sled, BG. If you don't have a sled, a piece of cardboard will do.
HA! Kids are with their dad until Monday; school starts Tuesday. All is well, but thanks for the cardboard tip. Midwest is pretty flat for sledding...
ReplyDeleteAll is well, but thanks for the cardboard tip. Midwest is pretty flat for sledding...
ReplyDeleteExactly. They can drag each other around and have the time and fresh, cool air to meditate upon their sins. Cardboard enhances the experience. And the backyard is a lot closer than Menlo Park.(/irony)
In warmer weather, the cardboard "sleds" perform excellently on grassy slopes!
ReplyDeletePS -- Sleds are the best way to get Chicago city or suburban kids out of the house in winter. Plastic ones are remarkably inexpensive. Boys in particular like those little kamikaze discs. Sledding hills are all over the place (think park districts converting landfill space, abandoned high train embankments, you name it).
ReplyDeleteThe kids get to spend time in the sun, climb themselves to exhaustion, and have a good time with their friends. Of course you have to go, but in a lot of places you can watch them from the warmth of the car. Have a big thermos of hot chocolate and spare warm socks ready for when they're done.
For added warmth, put Baggies over their socks before you put their boots on. It keeps the socks dry, and forms an air barrier to help keep their feet warm. And you can forget the spare socks.
This works really well until the boys are 12 or 13, and the girls enjoy it until they're 16 or 17 (as long as they bring their friends).
Make sure you scope things out and give them your bans (stay away from fences, lampposts and other immobiles), and admonitions (stand up as soon as you stop, turn around and look behind you for incoming child missiles) before you retreat to the car.
Can't read, but you can turn on Dick Kay on WCPT and enjoy a an hour or so of Saturday afternoon peace and quiet.
Happy New Year, BG.