Past, Present and Future?

1982-2015

Yesterday, my son-in-law, Roland, emailed me pictures of his sons sled riding. It immediately triggered memories for me. I knew that that particular sled had been photographed many times over the years and that it had special memories for me from my own childhood.

A Flexible Flyer sled,
 from 1936, within the
permanent collection of
 The Children's Museum of Indianapolis.
Credit: Wikipedia

When I was a child, one of seven in my family, we had three wooden sleds of various sizes that we shared among us. At some point, I inherited the one pictured above. It was in pretty rough shape.

Fast-forward to 1982 and I was a single parent to Elizabeth and had recently started dating my now husband, Bill Reed. Bill had some skills, and I wanted to have him rehab the sled for Liz at Christmas. Bill replaced a couple of the boards and varnished the whole thing. We also wrote to the company that made the sled and they provided us with a new "Flexible Flyer" decal. The first two pictures on the upper left include Bill, me and Liz when we gave the sled to her. I'm sure it meant more to me than it did to her. It brought back memories of my Dad.


When our first grandson, Ian, came along, we decided to pass it on to him. I cherish the picture of Bill with Ian making final adjustments to the sled. It snowed here in Cincinnati, and Liz, Roland and Ian took advantage of the fresh snow with the old sled. Ian, in the pictures with the brown hat, delighted in this new experience -- as did Grandma with camera in hand.

So on January 31st, 2015, new pictures arrived in my inbox. Andrew, pictured on the bottom right in a blue hat, clearly loved his ride on the sled. Pictures of Ian on the "new" green plastic sled were also included, as well as a couple of videos. I guess I'm sentimental, but these traditions mean far more to me than any other kind of gift. On this date, I am grateful for my many blessings.

Christmas Eve 2010

My Mom and Dad would be so proud!  Each year, Don (AKA Santa) and Frani host us at their home on Christmas Eve.  Most of the "cousins" alternate Christmas and Thanksgiving with the Joneses and their in-laws.  This was the year that everyone, with the exception of Greg and the Miami Munis, was there for Christmas Eve.  Frani's brother came up with the idea of taking a picture of all of us from above.  He managed to get everyone's faces.

This year we had seven of the "newest" generation and we know by next Christmas that there will be a couple of more additions.  Mom and Dad could not have imagined such a happy, healthy, blessed family.

On Christmas Day, Tom and Linda hosted all of us for Christmas dinner.  This time Greg and Marlena were also able to attend.  I'm amazed that our children came from Akron, Atlanta, Columbus, Minneapolis, Washington, D.C. and Chicago.  I think all of us are grateful that they are happy to "come home."

Ian and Bill

In keeping with the family history aspects of these postings, I tried to be aware of some Jones family traditions.  On Christmas Day, Bill and I pulled out a sled that I and my siblings shared when we were children.  When Liz was young, Bill "rebuilt it."  He had to replace a couple of boards and he wrote to the makers of the Flexible Flyer to get a replacement decal.  We anticipated the day when we would be able to pass it on to Ian. This year we were blessed with a white Christmas in Cincinnati giving us the perfect opportunity.  Pictured are Bill and Ian tightening a few nuts and getting the sled ready for Generation #3.

Ian and Roland

Liz and Roland dressed Ian and took him out for his first sled-riding experience.  I think his face says it all.

Since Roland grew up in Caracas, Venezuela, sled-riding was not a part of his experience growing up.  It was fun for us "older folks" to watch Liz, Roland and Ian playing in the snow.

Liz and Ian

Update:   After completing this post, I couldn't resist going to the basement and searching through the old photo albums to find pictures from when Bill originally restored this sled to give to Liz.  Bill and I do not recognize the "parents."  Was my hair ever brown?  Was I ever thin?  Who is that young guy that doesn't have white hair and beard?  Boy, we're getting old.