...all the other dads were doing it...

In between bouts of shivering, shoveling and scraping (ice scraping that is) yesterday, we hit the slopes for some sledding while the snow is still deep enough to sled upon.  We were lucky enough to have with us one of the relics of days gone by, an antique wooden sled with runners and front steering.  What fun!  Had Mister Man but been in muted snowgear it would no doubt have made for a lovely vintage-themed photo shoot.  Instead, he sported a miscellany of mismatched snowgear...clashy but warm (unlike his fashionably frigid Mami) as he coasted down the hill at record speeds.  All those kids in saucers and rafts and plastic paraphernalia were eating his dust!  I'm definitely making it my shopping mission to seek out and buy him a sled like the one we got to use, before next winter.

    Despite several requests, this Mami declined any trips downhill and remained shivery but stalwart on the crest of the hill while my son dove headlong into winter fun. 

There was one family in particular that garnered our attention as they also sported a wooden sled.  The father noticed us right away and declared his joy that someone else had a real sled also.  His son and Mister Man ran a few races down the hill together and he ever so kindly spent some time aligning our runners and scraping off some excess rust.  What a sweetheart!  So rarely do people seek out ways to be helpful and yet here he was, taking the time to help us get the maximum joy out of the sledding experience.  And let me tell you, this man definitely took his sledding expedition seriously.  He had several antique sleds of different styles, full-on winter proof apparel and a contagiously chipper outlook.  I think it's safe to say he spent as much time on the sleds, if not more, as his children did!

After as long as I could stand the shiveries we finally called it quits for the day (of course promises to repeat were offered up!) and headed home.  On the way home Mister Man piped up from the backseat, questioning why I hadn't traded off rides downhill with him.  I answered matter-of-factly that I had not dressed appropriately and was to cold to even consider getting up close and personal with the snow.  That answer was not good enough though.  So the question was repeated, my answer reworded...and then...silence...for a minute or so.  Mister Man spoke up again, saying "But all the other Dads were doing it..."

And there you have it...in the eyes of my son, I'm both. 

I'm Mami, for sure, all the time.

But when needed or noticed, I'm Dad to. 

A challenge I set for myself when first I became a single parent to (to my best abilities) cover both roles as needed seems to have been realized.   

It's not so much the lack of a dad as the presence of an all-encompassing Mami.