Monday was MLK day, and dear ol Uncle Sam gave me the day off. :) We took the opportunity to scoot to the top of the Mountain for a bit of sledding.
However, this little excursion did not proceed without incident. Aurora started the day with a sick tummy and a relatively grumpy disposition, but we decided that this was not going to stop us [in retrospect this may not have been the best decision...] So we stuffed all of our various winter sledding survival implements into the back of the Volvo and the pedal to the floor....sort of. Actually, it was more like 3rd gear; the mountain is kind of steep.
Anyways, after the first switchback, Aurora indicated that her tummy hurt a little bit.
Daddy -- "Sweety, are you gonna make it?"
Aurora -- "yeah"
Daddy -- "Are you sure?"
Aurora -- "un-hunh"...she nodded her head and gave me the big fake grin (fake but very cute)
Daddy -- "Woah!" I was looking at the fake-but-very-cute grin and not the road....more specifically the impending switch-back. But no harm done.
The switch backs continued for another 20 minutes. Just as we reached the 2nd to last turn. Aurora produced a barely audible announcement that her tummy didn't feel too good. This last plea had a more sincere tone to it than before and was not followed up with any fake-but-very-cute grins.
I quickly scanned the road ahead for any possibility of stopping. However, we were now at an altitude that included two inches of snow on the road. I didnt have chains on the tires, and would not have felt comfortable stopping on a 15 degree incline in such consistent snow. So we pushed forward. I focused on expedient, but smooth and safe driving. Rheagan focused on soothed Aurora to the best of her ability. Lucas focused on pretending that he was somewhere else. And Aurora focused on....well actually, she kind of lost focus.
What happened next, may well last in my memory as one of the most harrowing events of parenthood. Semi digested mack-&-cheese merged with the aft regions of the Volvo (to include just about everything Aurora was wearing).
There was no where to stop as the shoulders were all covered in two to three feet of snow. I decided to push ahead....turns out we were only about 90 seconds from the summit and ample parking. Ah, timing is everything.
We speedily pulled in to a mostly vacant parking lot and every one spilled out of the car. Save Aurora, who just kind of meekly stared at the gigantic mess of semi digested mac-&-cheese that had sprawled out in front of her.
As we scrapped the mess out into the snow covered ground, one couldn't help but notice the locals looking on with a quizzical pity at the American mess makers. I imagine their conversations went something like "oh that's bad....silly Americans....glad thats not me....ewhhooo!....don't eat the neon-orange snow!" Actually, this is also what Rheagan and I said to each other; .....except that it was us.
It took a good fifteen minutes to get everything sorted out but eventually things were clean enough for us to actually consider not going strait home.
So after some conjecture, we decided to delete the horror-film-quality experience by pressing ahead with our sledding plans. Aurora, didnt sled so much, and instead ate snow here and there....but not yellow snow (and not neon mack-&-cheese orange snow)....and generally had a good time despite herself. Actually, all of us had a good time in spite of our selves. And all was right with the world.
Posted by paul at January 19, 2009 06:04 PM