Sledding with the Neighbors.

Last year I discovered how much fun sledding could be. Growing up sledding meant dragging my dolls or little sisters around on a sled through the yard that was covered in an inch or two of snow. However, last year I realized how much fun it could be to whizz down a hill of packed snow finally stopping when it levels out or you run into a pile of snow. It's amazing!
I woke up to snow Thursday morning and would have loved to go sledding but it really never stopped snowing until that night. The next few days I was busy and didn't get to it. This afternoon, after a Professional Development/Teacher work-day at school, I saw some neighborhood children sledding down the him in the park. These children I have only talked to twice but are very sweet and I affectionately call them 'The neighbors'.
'The Neighbors' are a refugee family squatting in an abandoned house across the street from my building. They don't have a door, electricity, or running water and have covered the window holes with plastic to keep out the cold. The past week I've thought of them often as it's been in the single-digits at night and many days the temperature is in the teens and twenties. The children seem very happy though, and today they were sledding down the hill in the park on plastic bags and a crushed water jug that I'm sure they found in the nearby dumpster.
As I walked by they waved and I said hello. Then I remembered how much I'd wanted to sled with this snow and thought this might be my last chance. I set down what I was carrying and asked if I could join them. In my broken Turkish they understood me and quickly gave me the best 'sled'. The youngest one tried to give me a push off then grabbed onto my arm and slid down next to me. We went really fast and slid in circles towards the bottom. I was afraid I might crush her when I stopped but I didn't and we both ended our run laughing and smiling. They asked I would do it again and this time all four of them clung to me and we all went down together.
I wish I could have played with them all evening. Their smiles were infectious as they called me 'Abla' (big sister) and asked me if I could do it just one more time.