The Sled By My Door

My dad told me the story just about every time it snowed. When he was a young boy, he had a faithful little dog. This furry boyhood companion would pull him around on his sled all winter long. It sounded like such fun, a little boy and his dog frolicking in the snow. Dad was a wonderful storyteller and he made these adventures sound so exciting.

One evening, when I was little, my dad came home from work and invited me to go to the store with him. He announced that we were going to buy a sled for me. It had been snowing that day and he thought that I might enjoy a sled to play with in our neighborhood. All of my friends had Flying Saucer Sleds, so I had my sights set on one of those.

When we got to the store, we looked at all of the sleds they had in stock. He kept going back to a wooden one with blue metal runners. Not exactly what I had in mind. As he stood there, he smiled and told me that this one looked like the sled he’d had as a little boy. I knew that this was important to him, so that was the one that we brought home from the store. Even though it was dark and cold when we got home, my dad pulled me up and down our long driveway on that sled all evening.

I had many adventures in the snow with that sled. But, as it is with most childhood treasures, I eventually outgrew it. My sled found a comfortable resting spot in the garage.

Years later, after the birth of our first child, we had gone to visit my dad and stumbled across that old sled. We brought it home and cleaned it up a bit. That winter we hooked up our dog Bo (a sweet husky/black lab) to the sled and let her pull Hope all around the neighborhood. A couple of years later, Brianna joined in the fun when she was big enough to ride. Once again, I had hours of fun with that wonderful gift from long ago.

Today that old sled sits by my door. It’s a decoration, for now; a cheerful reminder of happy childhood memories. Someday it will haul around my grandchildren. And after having fun in the snow, while enjoying steaming cups of hot cocoa, I will tell them the story of a little boy, his dog, and a sled. I hope I can tell the story as well as he did.