Skiing anyone?

Tim and I have been working on the house (of course) finishing up texturing, etc. on the upstairs. Judah often comes out to "work " -- nailing or drilling pieces of scrap wood into his presents for family or special creations.

Saturday Tim was texturing the hall and stairwell. I was serving as a light post holding a large halogen. Judah was working downstairs. I heard something behind me on the stairs and turned around to see, expecting Judah to be ready to show me one of his masterpieces.

What I saw instead was Judah balanced like a US Olympian at the rim of the top step on a "ski" he had made from a pine pole. Tim had run the pole through his table saw, taking off the rounded edge -- it was the rounded edge of this four foot pole that Judah sat poised upon to set off on his gold-medal run, ski balanced about two foot off of the step, arms out and Judah with a determined look on his face to "go-for-the-gold"

I must say this elicited a fair amount of panic on my part and some loud hollering of STOP - DON'T MOVE over the hum of the air compressor, the noise of the texture hopper and Tim's cries for LIGHT! BABE! LIGHT!!! as I was turning here and there trying to capture Judah's compliance. Judah gave me a look of total disgust. One of those, "you've crushed my dreams with your ridiculous concerns" - "where can I get a new mother?" --- type of looks and headed down the stairs or at least so I thought.

I righted the light and thought - WHEW, what a close call. Something wasn't right, however. Maybe the eyes in back of my head were operating better than normal but at any rate I had a gut-wrenching need to lean over the stair well to make sure Judah was okay and found him once again poised to try his "ski" further down the stairwell where he thought his Momma couldn't see him.

We had a little more hollering, panic and general chaos before he abandoned his ski in total repugnance for his completely over-protective mother. As I am explaining to Tim the need for me to have CPR, he is laughing with abandon that Judah can come up with such a marvelous scheme.

Is it ANY wonder why I have gray hair?