That's actually a medical term here in
Tonasket. In fact,
that's what they call it when a 40 year man (Hugh) races headfirst downhill on a sled that has been dubbed "the Coffin" by a younger, heartier generation, and uses his collarbone to stop his descent on a fencepost.
So now Hugh is wearing a contraption called a "figure 8" that pulls back his shoulders and pushed out his chest so that he will heal correctly. But maybe I should start at the beginning.
The first snow of the year came later than usual here. November was crisp and beautiful. And Busy. Which is why November was lost on my blog here. Anyway, by the time the snow appeared, Cheyenne had been rushing to the window for days hoping for a miracle from the blue sky.
The cold hit first. The temperature dropped and dropped until it was hovering around 10 degrees. Once the flakes started falling, it built up fast. We had about 8 inches of snow by Friday night. Gina starting staying in town with Ganny so that she could be sure and get around and be there if Ganny needed her. The kids were invited to stay with some friends who happen to have a GREAT sledding hill, so it was just Hugh and I Friday night. Saturday, we were going to head over and pick the kids up. We were able to determine very quickly that the van was just as bad as we remembered int he snow. Rear wheel drive + top heavy vehicle = slide-o-Rama.
We didn't even get the van out of the driveway. It settled in the low spot. Fortunately, Kelli showed up in her cape and pulled the van to a level spot where it could rest. She tinkered with the Bronco a bit for us (which has turned into yet another money pit :-) ) and then she
offered to just give us a ride to the much anticipated "first snow of the year party" at the same place the kids were stowed.
On the way, we ran a few errands and then went to wait for her daughter, who was
returning from a field trip. Her daughter was a couple hours late, and we got bored watching another set of parents smooching, so Kelli drove up to a big flat spot and started spinning her truck in the snow. It was somewhat anticlimactic, so we started back down the hill and noticed her front tire seemed low. Really low. Hugh got out to examine it, and when Kelli asked if it was flat, he replied in typical Hugh fashion,
"Only on the bottom."
A quick check revealed that the spare tire was missing from the truck bed, so we had to call the back-up superhero, Joel, to bring us provisions. If I didn't already mention it, the wind was blowing HARD and the heat in the truck was questionable. It was basically warming the truck up to freezing.
Kelli's daughter arrived, Joel arrived and the tire was changed out in a matter of minutes. Boy, were we ready for warm drinks and a hot dinner when we finally reached our destination. We'd traveled only 7 miles in 3 hours!
So all the kids were on the hill sledding in the dark. The wind
was blowing too hard to keep the
Tiki torches lit, and the adults were chowing on Chili and hot buttered you name it. The kids tapped on the back
door to ask if they could ride a canoe
down the hill and most of the adults objected.
"There's no way to bail out easy" one said.
"You'll end up in the ravine" warned another.
The kids trudged away and then Hugh appeared at the back door. He looked pleadingly in at us with red nose and snow covered clothes.
"We really can't try the canoe?"
The adults broke into laughter, realizing the biggest kid of all was in charge. They loaded into the canoe and we all went out to watch. It didn't work. The canoe sat on the slope, unwilling to slide. Slowly, everyone extracted themselves from it- except Dakota.
Dakota had wedged himself into there so tight, I don't know what he was thinking. Hugh Flipped the canoe upside down to motivate him to try harder, and he eventually emerged.
Anyway, with all that pent up adrenaline, Hugh needed speed. He eyed the coffin and decided to teach it what a real
sledder's body looked like. We all headed inside. Ten minutes later, the front door opened, and I heard what i thought was Dakota making the sounds that mean he thinks he is hurt. A sigh...a grunt...a quiet groan. I waited for the inevitable summoning, which came- surprised the heck out of me when it was Hugh.
I thought by the look on his face he was having an insulin reaction, and then he informed me he had broken his collarbone. Having a
rrived the without a
vehicle, and then behaving like I
had a designated driver lined up- I was grateful that we had friends to drive us in. Less than an hour and several one liners later we left the hospital, first snow day of the year leaving an indelible memory on our hearts..... and shoulders.
"Cheyenne" we were talking about, since there was- amazingly- another Cheyenne the same age as ours. There's the typical last initial added on, a variety of nicknames that didn't stick (mostly because BOTH girls go by Chey and CheyChey). Little did we know the girls would solve this on their own by becoming nearly inseparable, requiring us to only refer to them as The Cheyenne's. 
Our little house is extra full this week, thanks to Cheyenne K's mom needing to spend some time at the HOSPITAL. She lost a battle with her gallbladder, and finally decided that sheer force of will would not cause the pain to go away. Anyway, we have priveledge of hosting not just Cheyenne, but the adorable, unstoppable Lily. 
