As many boys do, mine had some energy they needed to get rid of before winding down for the night. So, as they've done in the past, they put on their snow gear and headed out and hit the slopes. It was early evening, the sun had long since set, but the dark doesn't deter them in the least. It makes it more enjoyable!
I thought they were making some cool sledding paths in our back yard on the hill, but either they didn't want to take the time to build a burm to avoid hitting the A-frame of the swingset, a chance they'd take going down the best and longest path, or as I should have guessed, they discovered the driveway works much better!
I had started off the morning shoveling the entire driveway. I could have used the snowblower, but it was a minimal amount, the snow wasn't heavy, and I figured the exercise would do me some good and I'd still get the same result in the end. But as the day wore on, the gusty winds blew some snow around and left a light dusting. That, coupled with dropping temperatures, the grade and incline of the driveway, made for perfect sledding conditions!
So I found them out front, sledding down the driveway, howling and having a great old time. Jeffrey would have joined in and they did in fact, invite him to hop on their sleds, but I wouldn't allow it. So he was happy helping me shovel and pick away at the tire mark snow tracks and dodging kids on sleds flying down the driveway and being forced to stop once they hit the garage door.
I had succeeded in eliminating most of the tire marks and went in to grab my camera. I figured this was a moment worth preserving in a photo. Apparently I chose the wrong time to run in because that was when Christopher and Joey crashed into each other. Of course Joey, being the smaller of the two, got injured. It was nothing serious, but a good enough reason to call it quits and head inside, but not before Christopher came barreling down the driveway again and plowed into Joey and knocking him over. Talk about adding insult to injury! But I did manage to get one shot before the collision. In the photo, Tommy appears to be heading for Jeffrey (but he misses him), and Christopher is heading straight for Joey, who is not seen in the photo because he's standing near me.
As luck would have it, my neighbor called a short time later and inquired about my driveway and its icy condition. He is a landscaper and often has the sanding truck, since he sands his own driveway after every snowstorm, no matter how big or small. Their driveway would work great for sledding, too. So he asked if I wanted him to sand our driveway. Hmm, a tough one. Do I continue to deal with an icy driveway all winter long, knowing the driveway will almost always win anyway, no matter how much time I spend out there chipping away at the ice with the ice thingy -- and, let the kids enjoy some really great sledding -- or, gratefully take him up on his offer and let the sand and salt do all the work! (Guess which option I chose?)
Early this morning around 4 AM, G jumped out of bed upon hearing a truck outside. "That's just Bill sanding our driveway," I told him as I hunkered under the covers. He returns to bed, hopefully as thankful as I am that we are privileged to live next to a really nice neighbor who happens to have a sanding truck that will visit our driveway after every storm. Thanks, Bill!
The boys will just have to enjoy sledding in the back yard and get creative about making the path avoid hitting the A-frame!
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