First, PSA to all skiers, snowboarders, snowsledders, cyclists, etc: WEAR A DAMN HELMET. 

My mom called this morning, with the tone of "something bad almost happened" in her voice.  She and my dad and another couple were skiing this morning, and there was an unmarked blind hole that my dad hit head on, which ejected him from his skis, and threw him headfirst into a tree.  He’s fine, went and got checked out and is sore, he says it feels like he got in a car accident, but his helmet? Is not fine. Cracked right down the middle.  My mom didn’t see it, came around the bend as he was crawling out of the woods with blood dripping from his mouth (from bitinghis tongue) and that was enough to freak her out.  He skied down, but not after finding a caution pole and marking the hole, and sending ski patrol up to rope it off.  Either way, fucking scary.  My folks got on the helmet train only a few years ago, and many skiers/etc don’t wear helmets, but the helmet is probably the reason my dad isn’t swapping stories with Sonny Bono right about now.  The infirmary told him that the ski shop will give him a discount if he trades in the helmet (it obviously will be replaced before he hits the slopes again), because cracked helmets are a great way to sell the concept.

Anyway. Wear a helmet.

Last night, I was in the bathroom and heard Dave answer the door.  It was Nick, the kid who spends some weekends across the street, delivering our order of candy from some school fundraiser he did. It had been so long since we ordered, I’d kind of written it off, and Dave had totally forgotten, so when he answered the door, there was Nick — unrecognizable as he was A) not on his bike and B) wrapped head to toe in winter gear. Nick apparently just looked up and said "I’ve got your stuff," and held out a big cardboard box. Hee.  It took Dave a good minute to figure out what was going on, that it wasn’t some weird prank or something.

Today, Dave’s off doing a hockey game, and I’m going to, god, why do I do this — venture towards the mall area.  i need to get some stuff for my SIL, and I just need to DO it. Tomorrow, we’ll get a tree and decorate it, which will inevitably lead to cookie-baking and Muppets-listening, right? Right.

Wear a helmet!!