Sledding Trauma

Not physical trauma, psychological trauma. We thought it would be a great idea to take you sledding today. The snow is nice and compact and crispy on top. Daddy said he knew a really good spot at the local community college. We got in the van with the snow tube and drove over. I thought the hill looked rather steep and long. So I sent Daddy down the hill by himself to test it. You looked on with wonder and excitement. You were ready to go! Daddy said the hill was "fine" and he would take you. I should have known that "fine" for a 200lb man would be different for a 24lb toddler.

Please note your innocent excitement before you went down the hill:


Actually, you did not freak out until it was over. I took a video but our old computer does not "do" HD video, hence the lack of videos lately. Anyway, you made it to the bottom of the hill, no problem. You freaked out as soon as the tube stopped. You were completely hysterical, in between the tears and gasps, you try to explain that you didn't like it. We understood that without you saying "I don't like that! It scared me!" over and over.



I tried to calm you down and tried to coax you into one more ride with me, only 20 ft up the hill.

I got you to sit with me, only to have you start crying all over again. We went down the hill (only 20ft) and holy cow was it fast! No wonder the 4-story hill was scary! We tried to just push you around the flat ground in the tube, although no tears, you asked to get out the entire time.



A little girl sledding on the same hill, tried to tell you it was fun. Nothing worked. We put you in the tube and pushed you back up the huge hill.


As soon as we got to the top you jumped out and made a beeline for the van shouting "go home!"


So that's how Daddy traumatized you sledding. If you have a lifelong fear of sledding, you know where it all began.

The day wasn't all bad, you told us you needed to go potty, we took off the diaper and you sat down and read some books. After the "Cat in the Hat" and "Arthur's Birthday Surprise" you actually peed in the potty! This was quite the success since you instigated the whole thing. The potty has just sat in your room, next to the bathroom door for a couple months now. You sit on it everyday night before bath time. Lately, you have asked to sit on the potty and read during different points in the day. You never "did" anything. Today, for whatever reason, it all clicked.

We are so proud of you! The potty success makes us feel less like horrible parents for the whole sledding incident.

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