On Thin Ice

Growing up in the Rocky Mountains for the first part of their lives, my kids never experienced anything like an ice storm. We just never had them. So our first winter in Branson, Missouri, my sons went berserk when we had our first ice storm of the year.

It started on a Monday with the five-day forecast. The weatherman on T.V. called for possible freezing rain by Thursday afternoon, turning to a full fledged ice storm by Thursday night.When the kids heard this prediction they screamed, jumped up and down, and clapped their hands with the excitement of a lottery winner, and later that night, while kneeling at his bedside, youngest child was heard praying for the weatherman’s projection to come to pass. We really needed to have a serious talk with that child.

Thursday evening, as they impatiently awaited the arrival of the storm, the boys were wound up as if on a caffeine high. They were literally motion with no where to go. If they weren’t wildly running throughout our little abode, bouncing off the walls, and loudly creating endless, incoherent chatter, they could be found with their eyeballs glued to the freshly cleaned living room window, their hot breath creating a circle of fog on the glass which they periodically wiped clear with their hands.

Well, amongst all the chaos I somehow managed to fall asleep on the sofa around 8 pm. Some time thereafter, I was startled to a state of semi-consciousness by a biting chill in the air. I was further brought to a more cognizant state of mind by the piercing, high-pitched voice of youngest son.

“Wow, this is cool,” he said as he stood on the porch (the front door wide open), leaning over the banister with his tongue hanging out, trying to catch falling ice.

“Shut that . . .!” I started to yell, but was cut off by eldest son’s nervous laughter coming from somewhere in the vicinity of the unsheltered parking lot of our apartment complex.

I rose to my feet and made my way to the open door to see what the heck was going on. What I saw was a bit unsettling. Eldest son was floundering all about on the icy parking lot (a parking lot with a fair incline to it), trying to make his way back to the porch. Evidently, while I was snoozing on the couch, he decided to try his skating athleticism on the newly formed ice rink outside.

Slipping and sliding all over the place, he grabbed at everything in sight; only, everything in sight was covered with ice and his hands just slid right off. Over and over again he’d slip and fall, get up, slip and fall, get up, slip and fall. It was like watching a newborn colt trying out his legs for the very first time.

Finally, I tossed the boy a rope I kept in the coat closet for just such an emergency (I didn’t grow up in a family of all boys without learning a thing or two about the mischief they can get into) and I pulled him in.

“Hey Dad, “eldest son said once he was back in the house, “how about we take our rocking chair and slide down our road in it?”

The look I gave him must have bespoke my thoughts concerning his proposal for he abandoned the idea and never brought it up again. I mean come on, what was he thinking? There was no way we could've steered the chair around that first bend in the road.

10 comments:
Jules said...
This one brought back such great MO. memories! thanks
Monday, August 20, 2007 9:18:00 AM EDT
kel said...
Brilliant story!!
Monday, August 20, 2007 1:52:00 PM EDT
doodlebugmom said...
I hate freezing rain. I will take snow anyday!
Monday, August 20, 2007 2:27:00 PM EDT
kristi noser said...
I have to admit I love it when it rains and freezes. Not only do you not have to go to work, you get to watch all that ice sparkling when the sun comes out. Beautiful.
Monday, August 20, 2007 3:33:00 PM EDT
kristi noser said...
Oh, and why waste time riding a rocking chair down the slippery slope? Go for the Barcalounger!
Monday, August 20, 2007 3:34:00 PM EDT
Valerie said...
having never dealt with sleet, i guess i'll take rain. 'sides people here lose their freaking minds every.time.it.rains.
Monday, August 20, 2007 8:39:00 PM EDT
JunieRose2005 said...
Doug,I think your boys must have heard some of your childhood stories and wanted to live up to their Dad's escapades! ;)Junie
Tuesday, August 21, 2007 11:27:00 AM EDT
skrpndiva said...
Can't even imagine that scenario. I have never experienced snow, sleet or ice! After all, I am a California girl, born and raised...I should say, a southern California girl, born and raised!Jacquie
Tuesday, August 21, 2007 7:04:00 PM EDT
Melanie said...
For me freezing rain meant the school buses would be cancelled, and consequently I couln't get any work done. Sounds like your kids had a great time and there were no bones broken.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007 7:52:00 PM EDT
Rachel said...
Sounds like the apples didn't fall far from the tree. teehee!!! The rocking chair would have been fun. You could have tied the rope to it - got a good speed up -the rope would have caught and then you would have all went flying on the ice......wheeeeeee.........