"Ready, set, GO!"
The sun was sinking behind the trees and, next to me, Isobel was scrambling to catch up. We were sledding at a local park near where we live, and she'd tossed out the idea of racing. We'd each taken a couple of turns flinging ourselves down the hill by then — though, I couldn't remember the last time I'd gone sledding before that.
Sitting in a plastic orange sled, I stowed my feet and glanced sideways. Isobel was still standing, walking toward our imaginary starting line. Her blue sled landed in the snow next to me and, without thinking, I reached my arms forward and started pulling on the ground like I was rowing crew to launch myself forward.
"HEY!" she barked.
I really thought I'd had her... but I should've known better,
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her get a running start and launch into the air. Shit. Then, just as I started to pick up some speed, she landed in her sled upright on her knees, cackling. Oh no. I watched helplessly as Isobel cruised past. She ended up going further than any of the existing tracks and coming to a stop in a fit of giggles before I'd even hit the runout.
There are many different kinds of fun, but it'd been quite a while since I'd had this kind.
When's the last time you played without thinking or pre-planning it?
And if you know someone who'd appreciate this, pass it along!
onward.
For more on this daily column and The MAP Year Project, read the backstory here.