The Sled ride - more than Skip bargained for...

Despite the bitter cold yesterday, Skip and I were going a bit stir crazy by late afternoon and decided to take a short walk after all. I bundled him up as best as I could and we grabbed the sled and headed outside hoping to catch a second wind before we had a late dinner. It was really windy and I almost turned around and went back upstairs but Skip just lights up when he hits the crisp fresh air and decided to tough it out. For the first time since I got here I was cold and my hands, beneath my fur lined leather gloves, were the first to complain….Skip however, had a few layers of clothes and seemed very happy to be back on the sled and circling the neighborhood. We walked to the top of the main road and I was surprised to see the city was pretty busy. Buses, cars, people and dogs - all going about their normal business. We watched for awhile and then headed back down one of the side roads to the apt and since the tall buildings protected us from the wind, we were in good shape when we got back to the apt and decided to walk a bit in the opposite direction. The cold I felt earlier gave way to a renewed energy, and Skip was content to bop up and down and point to dogs and birds. He was happy, I was no longer going stir crazy, things were good. …I was lost in thought, trying to decide which path to take and then noticed a man coming from the opposite direction with a big dog on a leash. “Skip will get a kick out of that dog”, I thought to myself as I pulled the sled – which seemed to just glide so easily on the new snow, it was like I wasn’t pulling anything at all. Just then, the man with the dog was parallel to us, on the opposite side of the road and he began to say something to me. He wasn’t overly excited, just seemed to be trying to tell me something…And then it hit me – “extremely light sled & and a man pointed at us”. I turned to see my sled was now empty and Skip was lying on his back about 10 feet behind me. I ran back and went to pick him up – hoping not to draw TOO MUCH attention, and hoping he wasn’t too upset at his mama for what had just happened. I looked at his sweet little face and saw he wasn’t crying or even remotely upset. In fact, he was laughing – hysterically – thinking I suppose being thrown from the sled was part of the program I guess. I picked him up and got him on the sled again and made a mental note to get a belt of some kind for the next trip – to avoid recurrences. We finished our loop and made it back to the apt. Skip’s little cheeks were bright red and he had a refreshed glow about him. I asked him if he enjoyed his little trip and he just laughed…I think he did, but you can judge for yourself from the picture entitled “That was fun”..A late dinner and and some books, and before we knew it, it was bedtime. Skip was asleep in 2 minutes – a record I think. I think the fresh air does him good – I just have to learn to keep him ON the sled and OFF the ground. Skip’s way of adjusting to the time change is not what I hoped for and instead of sleeping til 8:00 (which would have been 7:00 according to HIS internal time clock – he got up at 6:00… Go figure. I let him play in his crib and several times I thought he might come to his senses and catch a few winks but he was just teasing me and by 7:00 he had had it and wanted out. I know when I’m beat, I gave up and we began our day. It was still bitter cold – more so than yesterday but the sun was out and we were hopeful that it would get warm enough for a walk after lunch. Skip watched the Wiggles while he waited for breakfast and protested when I turned it off after the first show. He got over quickly when he saw the oatmeal that was waiting for him on the table…Since Skip is a human vacuum cleaner and can spot a crumb faster than our cat Nomar can smell fresh meat in a grocery bag I bring into the house, I decided I needed to clean the floor. Skip thought it was a great idea and proceeded to climb on the canister as if it was a horse he was about to ride…He thought it was funny sitting there so Mama couldn’t get any work done and when she turned it on while he was still on top of it, he laughed harder. Not easily discouraged, this little boy of ours. When I finally convinced him to get off he decided he would try and help me vacuum but just couldn’t get the knack of it and abandoned the effort. I tried to tell him it worked better if he stood up while pushing the vacuum, but he didn’t want to listen…I think he was just being helpless, figuring if he got to be good at it, I might make him do it all the time…Smart kid.With a semi-clean apt we moved on to toys and people watching outside the window and soon it was nap time. Poor little guy – now, when I go into the bedroom with him in my arms, and turn on the music AND close the curtains – he knows he’s a goner and his whole body stiffens and he grabs hold of my neck. He knows where he is going and doesn’t go without a mini-fight. He doesn’t cry anymore though and quickly resigns himself to the fact that its time to re-energize. This afternoon we did indeed take a walk outside, this time trying out our new stroller. When we got outside I was trying to balance Skip on my hip as I unfolded the stroller and a kid - 20ish – came over to help. I didn’t refuse and when I had it open and Skip seated, I thanked him “Spa-seebah” and he replied with “Pozhalsta” - You’re welcome (also means please which is very confusing) He then proceeded to ask me a long question in Russian, and since I hadn’t a clue what he said, I simply smiled and attempted to be on our way – he smiled back at us, and had a amused look on his face. I think we have a date tomorrow nite…. The Main street is shoveled and the side streets are so compacted because of the heavy foot flow, pushing it was easy. We walked for about 45 minutes without incident and returned to the apt with a renewed spirit. SIt's hard to tell if Skip was relieved or disappointed that he stayed inside the stroller the entire ride and never got to be tossed onto the ground like yesterday..After cookies and Pringles, and more people watching, we both retired to the bedroom for a nap. Neither of us complained and both dozed off almost immediately. I don’t know about Skip, but I felt better…Irina has just called and said she’d be by soon so I guess that’s our report for the day. Hopefully we’ll have something to report about a court date tomorrow since Boris went to the courthouse today to see the judge…Stay tuned…

COMMENTS:

Mar 30, 2004 Diane Bacon: Judy,I love reading your emails. It sounds like you and Skip are getting along wonderfully. Keep writing... I can't say I miss being there but I can picture you and Skip. How is Wilson? Have you gotten any news?Diane